Death Is Just A Game
by misticalcookie
Summary: From the moment her name was chosen, she knew that life would never be the same.  Looking at the other tributes, she knew that it was true.  Her life had changed. One advantage, thousands of disadvantages.  The victor has been chosen!  -Being re-done-
1. The Beginning

Welcome to the 52nd games, this is the first story in my series. It is followed by "Fear is Just a Word" which is the second story and the third and final part is called "Freedom Is Just A Dream."

This story is complete.

* * *

Flamiken hadn't been made the Head Gamemaker for her good looks. No, she had been promoted over ten years ago because of her dedication and hard work. Flamiken was good at her job. She was brilliant at getting the other Gamemaker's to do her bidding.

Flamiken was a good leader, and very creative.

Just last year for the fifty first games, Flamiken had built the designs for the most elaborte arena ever.

And now it was getting close to the fifty second games, it was time for Flamiken to have a meeting with her fellow Gamemakers and come up with another brilliant arena. They needed to discuss plans and outfits and chariots. So much work went into planning the games.

"I want an arena that no one is expecting," Flamiken told her fellow friends. Not that they were really listening. Wendetta, the Gamemaker in charge of mutts, was busy admiring her manicure that she had just had done. Flamiken's own sister wasn't even paying attention. Flamiken cleared her throat and all eyes went back to her.

"As I was saying," Flamiken said, once satisfied that she their attention, "We need more traps, better tricks, mutations that the tributes aren't expecting."

"I have some mutts up my sleeves," Wendatta squeaked in that awful high pitched voice of hers. Flamiken wished that Wendetta had never had her voice altered. Because the sound was worse then nails on a chalkboard.

"Let's make these the best games ever," Aliida put in. Flamiken smiled at her.

"We will," Flamiken agreed, "the tributes better watch out, because they're in for a challenge."

* * *

**Tributes for the 52nd Games**

District 1: Lenea Reynolds and Stelz Marquis

District 2: Sadie Cross and Dragon Halbred

District 3: Skylar Reef and Jeremy Buckess

District 4: Anya O'dell and Nemo Kai

District 5: Nan Weatherall and Reece Antine

District 6: Natina Henley and Colten Henley

District 7: Autumn Faith and Hunter Trappe

District 8: Elysia Holland and Corbin Pierce

District 9: Sares Tuck and Fret Harmis

District 10: Corinne Dedly and Ethen Hurst

District 11: Casey Ellison and Richard Boyle

District 12: Belle Petals and Mark Vires

**Happy Reading**

**~*Misty*~**

**Please Review**


	2. Reapings Part 1

**District 2 Reapings**

"Good morning sunshine," Jael called as she entered the dark room. She hurried over to the window and threw open the blinds, causing one very angry Sadie to wake up. And boy was she ever cross when woken up abruptly.

"Go away Jay," she mumbled as she rolled her head under the pillow to try and shield her eyes from the bright light.

"But today's the big day," Jael chirped as she jumped onto Sadie's bed, black curls went a flying everywhere.

"Not everyone likes reaping day," Sadie muttered from under the pillow, her voice was muffled but Jael still understood her sister.

"Come on, let's find you a decent reaping dress, you want to look beautiful for when you volunteer."

"I'm not going to volunteer," Sadie murmured.

"It's the only way to get chosen silly, even if your name is pulled, chances are that another girl is going to want the glory and will volunteer and go in your place," Jael grabbed the pillow. Sadie burrowed under her arms.

"That's what I'm counting on, now go away."

Jael jumped off the bed, pulling Sadie's huge comforter with her. Sadie kicked her legs in different directions, hoping to get her sister, but Jael was quick, it was one of her gifts that had helped her win in the arena seven years ago.

Jael moved over to Sadie's magnificent closet. Jael had been the one to buy most of Sadie's clothes, Sadie wasn't a girly girl. Styles and trends just weren't her thing. They were Jael's.

"How about this sis?" Jael held up a yellow sundress, Sadie made a face. She wasn't a dress fan. "This?" The next item was a frilly pink dress, Sadie didn't think it even deserved a comment.

"Can't I just go in jeans and a cami?" Sadie asked as she headed over to her dresser where her jeans were thrown into a drawer.

"Absolutely not, what if you're chosen."

"I'm not going," Sadie shot back, and Jael knew to keep her mouth shut. If Sadie wanted to dress like a fool, then so be it. Personally, Jael was going to be all decked out. After all, extravagance was expected from a mentor, especially from her. Her hunger games might be over, but life was still a competition. She had to beat her outfit from last year. She just had to. Last year she was a bird, decked out in white dove feathers. This year she would go as a dragon. Or maybe a unicorn. Something mythical.

Sadie and Jael left their house and turned left out of Victors Village. Sadie's two best friends, Meredith and Irina were waiting for her.

"Your sister is so perfect," Meredith trilled, Sadie nodded absentmindedly. Personally, she thought that her older sister was slightly over the top. Jael would make a good actress.

"So bets on who's going this year?" Irina asked.

"I heard that Lindsay Crocker is going to volunteer," Meredith put in as she linked arms with her friends.

Sadie had heard that too, and she really didn't blame Lindsay for wanting to volunteer, especially since her scandal several months ago.

"I think Dragan Halberd might volunteer again," Irina shouted, they had reached the crowd and Irina had to yell to make herself heard.

Sadie groaned, she hated that kid. He was such a jerk. He had volunteered last year, but so had two others. Dragan had not been chosen.

"Take your places," the mayor said as the children filed in and found their correct sections. The mayor said her traditional speech and then Yvonne Heart stepped up to pick names. Yvonne had been the District 2 escort for as long as Sadie could remember.

"Oh," Yvonne said with her heavy accent as she read the name to herself, "well then, this is quite a twist."

Sadie felt her stomach knot up. Twists were never good, never at all, except in pretzels. But there were exceptions for every rule.

"Sadie Cross," Yvonne shouted, clear as a bell. Sadie took a deep breath. She knew that someone was going to volunteer, every year someone volunteered. She smiled at her friends and then made her way up.

Jael was grinning from ear to ear. Sadie sat down next to her older sister, she folded her hands and began to say a silent prayer.

"And for the boys we have Gunther Mathias."

Gunther Mathias was one of Sadie's numerous ex-boyfriends, but at least this one didn't end as badly as some of the others. They were still on speaking terms at least.

"And now we open up the floor for volunteers, girls first," Yvonne said, looking out into the crowd. There were no volunteers. There were exceptions for every rule. "Well then, welcome to the games Sadie Cross."

Jael was giving her sister and 'I told you look.'

"Are there any guys out there who want a whack at this years game?"

"I do," said a gruff voice from the back. Sadie cringed. She knew exactly who had said that.

"What's your name?" Yvonne asked as the dark haired kid made his way through the crowd.

"Dragan Halberd," he said at the same time that Sadie muttered his name. He glared at her as he reached the podium area.

"And here we go, this year's tributes, give it up for Sadie and Dragan."

Dragan smiled evilly. 'Here we go,' he thought, 'here we go.' He was already plotting his revenge.

**District 4 Reapings**

Anya O'dell woke up at dawn, she tried to figure out why she was up so early. She lay in bed with her eyes closed, trying to fall back to sleep. But it was elusive, taunting her, so she gave up. Her feet touched the cold floor and she almost slipped back under the big quilt that her mother had made her a long time ago, before she had gotten sick. Anya missed the old days when both of her parents were alive and well. Now it was just her, her two younger brothers and her very sick mother.

She slipped her feet into some slippers and padded over to the mirror. She grimaced as she saw her bed head. The brush was no use for the tangles and knots littered about her hair. A long time ago, her mother would brush the knots out, but now it was Anya's job to brush her mother's hair.

She heard noises down the hall and wondered who else was up at this godforsaken hour. She replaced the brush in its proper spot and then left her bedroom to investigate. The cries were coming from the room that her two brothers shared.

Six year old Pip was thrashing about in his bed, nine year old Andy was still passed out, but he would soon awaken if Anya couldn't calm down Pip.

She gathered the little boy into her arms and rocked him back and forth, whispering soothing words into his ear.

"Don't go," Pip said softly as she brushed the hair back from his eyes. She would have to take him to the barbers to go get it cut soon.

"I'm not going anywhere," she assured him.

"Yes you are," he replied, "today's the reaping."

Anya gasped in surprise, Pip was right, today was the reaping. And her name was going to be entered in the fish bowl five times.

"Don't fret little pup, I'll be safe," she tried to assure him, not realizing that she was trying to assure herself as well.

"But my nightmare," he said, "in my nightmare you were reaped, and my nightmares always come true."

Anya didn't want to admit it, but he was right. The others in their district didn't believe Anya when she claimed that her brother had foreseen the death of their father. Pip's dream the night before the horrible fishing accident that had claimed their fathers life had come true. Pip said that someone had tampered with the boat. But they couldn't prove it. The boat was now at the bottom of the ocean with her father.

"Come on, let's get breakfast," she said instead, "come on Andy."

"Aw, how'd ya know I was awake," Andy jumped out of bed and followed them out of the bedroom.

"You snore like a train horn," Anya said as they plodded into the kitchen and she rummaged around for something to make. If Pip's nightmare did come true, and her goose bumps on her arm told her that it would, then she wanted to make something extravagant. She wanted them to remember her at her best, not her worst. And her cooking skills weren't always up to par.

"I'll go check the fish traps," Andy offered as Anya cracked some eggs into a porcelain bowl that her father had found in the water when she was younger.

He came back with a string of fish, Pip clapped in happiness, he loved fish. Anya thought that it was a good thing that Pip was born and raised in the fishing district, he would make an awesome fisherman when he grew up.

"Thanks Andy, I'll take it from here, why don't you and Pip go check on mama and keep her company."

The two boys scurried to their other's room without hesitation. Anya was left with her own thoughts.

She was going to be reaped. That much was certain, but at least it wouldn't be a surprise later on. She had a few hours to prepare. After breakfast was made and the boys had cleaned their plates, she set them to cleaning up the kitchen.

"I'll be back," she called over her shoulder as she headed down the street to where her grandmother still lived. After the death of her father, and her mother had come down with her illness, Lynn O'dell offered to move in and help Anya. But Anya had brushed her grandmother's help away. She was hoping the offer still stood.

It was, Anya left her grandmother's house feeling a little bit better. It was time to get ready for the reaping, she wanted to look her best for when she stood up on stage for all of Panem to see.

"Aren't you just so excited," her best friend trilled from next to her.

"Not really Shauna," Anya replied as she looked over her shoulder to make sure that Pip and Andy were still there with their grandmother. They were. Mama was back at the house, resting. Anya had said her usual goodbye, she didn't want mama to fret.

"I think maybe I'll volunteer this year," Shauna said thoughtfully as the mayor finished his speech and Thenithus rushed forward to pick the first name. Anya tried not to get her hopes up. But it got her thinking, District 4 was a career district, maybe someone would volunteer for her. Pip just said that she was reaped, not that she actually participated.

"Anya O'dell," Thenithus's voice rang loud and clear. Anya calmed her nerves and headed up to the stage. No volunteers were allowed until both names were chosen. Too many children wanted to volunteer that there was a proper way to volunteer.

"And for our boy tribute we have," Thenithus paused to fish around, he caught one and read it aloud, "Alastor Grimes."

Anya's eyes went wide. Not Alastor. He had been her crush since before she could walk. She had known him while in her mother's womb. His father had been on the boat with her father, both killed in that 'accident.'

Volunteers were called for. Anya prayed that she would be saved, that someone would jump up and say that they would go in for her. But she only heard the frogs croaking.

Anya went to her happy place, it was better than dealing with the pain, the reality of life.

"I'll go," Nemo Kai volunteered for Alastor. Anya's happy place was with her father, swimming amongst the reefs, watching the clown fish go about their business. How she missed the old days.

**District 5 Reapings**

Nan Weatherall was nervous. As she had been on this day last year. Last year she had managed to scrape by, but she knew that it didn't matter, she still had six more years of nerve wracking fear.

She stood with the other thirteen year olds as she waited for the female name to be chosen and announced.

"Please don't pick me, please," she murmured under her breath, she had done that last year too, and it seemed to work.

But luck wasn't on Nan Weatherall's side. She tried to hold back her tears as she heard her name called. She searched the crowd for her parents, but the Weatherall's had been swallowed up by the sea of people.

She forced herself to walk towards the podium where Lilly Sanders was giving her a reassuring smile. Nan had always liked Lilly and had looked up to the woman who had won the games nine years ago. Lilly had been the most recent winner from their district, so it was only fair that she was this year's mentor.

It was time to pick the boy and then move on to volunteers. Nan knew that there would be no volunteers. Not for her at least, maybe if she had an older sister, then she might be safe. Nan was an only child though. The less kids, the less chance of losing them to the games. Nan's parents were scientists, they thought that math and probability was on their side. They had been wrong. At least they were still young enough to have another child to replace her when she died in the games.

She would fight until the bitter end though. She was stubborn, that had to count for something.

"Reece Antine," the escort called out, and a gangly teenager with a pimply face scurried into view. He seemed likable and charismatic. The nice boy that none of the girls wanted to date until he went off to college and his acne cleared up. But he would never get to that point in life. It was just a sad fact of the games. The nice ones never won.


	3. Reapings Part 2

**District 6 Reapings**

Nat Henley ran her fingers through her hair, trying to unsnag the knots. She smiled at her youngest sister, trying to ease Delaney's fear. Delaney gave a tentative smile back, it wasn't her usual, light up her face type of smile. Nat wished that she could smooth over her sister's fear, she wanted to make it all better. But she couldn't. Nothing would calm down the fear of the Hunger Games.

It was reaping day, the day that twenty-four new children would be chosen to compete in a game. Nat and her siblings grew up thinking that games of any sort were dangerous. Pin the tail on the donkey was bad, the donkey could get stuck in the eye and that would be the end of his sight. Games were not allowed in the Henley household.

Delaney was finally old enough to be entered into the games. It was pure dumb luck. Her birthday had just passed three days ago. If only it had been four days later, then she could be safe for one more year.

"We're going to be late," Shyla said from behind Nat, Delaney looked terrified. Nat wished that Delaney was still a baby, still little enough to pick up. But Delaney had grown up years ago. She had seen the terrible things on television, she knew what could happen to her if she was picked.

"Where's Colten?" Nat asked as she looked around widely for her brother. Fourteen year old Colt appeared into the kitchen, looking sleepy-eyed as always. "You ready?" Nat asked her only brother.

"Not really, but let's go before we get whipped."

"Don't be such a Debbie Downer."

"If I was a Debbie Downer then I'd say something along the lines of 'not really, but I'm going to get chosen whether I'm there or not," Colt shot back at his sister, she gave him a look. He muttered something under his breath. Nat was almost certain that it wasn't "I'm sorry." The Henley children did not apologize.

The four siblings left the house and headed down to the lane to the center of town where a crowd was already growing. Nat refused to leave Delaney in the twelve year old section, there was no way that she was going to leave her sister there for her first reaping. Delaney was too terrified to go through this all by herself. So they headed to the eighteen year old section instead. It was Nat's last year to be entered into the reaping. She had somehow escaped the six previous years of being chosen, she was banking on escaping this year as well. Luck had never been on the Henley's side though.

Shyla and Colten went over to their prospective areas. Shyla was almost sixteen and she could handle the stress without Nat there to protect her. Colten was a boy and didn't want to admit that he still needed his sister.

After the accident that took the lives of both of their parents, the four siblings relied on each other for strength. Nat always felt guilty when they went to their separate areas for the reaping.

She found herself next to her best friend in the whole wide world, Gennifer Garmen. Gen gave her a tight lipped smile and then turned back to the center stage where the mayor and the district six escort, Lydia Holmes were shaking hands. Gen was a girl of few words. After taking care of her three talkative siblings, Nat found solace with Gen.

"It'll be okay," Delaney whispered to her oldest sister and Nat was taken aback by her sister's bold statement. Shouldn't Nat be the one comforting Delaney?

"Hello District Six," Lydia boomed out at the residents, "welcome to the fifty second games, today is a perfect day to pick new tributes."

Nat didn't think that any day would be perfect to pick tributes, unless there was a tornado that blew in to swallow up Lydia and the two fishbowls. But that had only happened once, Nat had been eight years old when she watched the previous escort, Hallow Grounds, be picked up by a freak tornado.

"Shall we begin with the ladies?" Lydia asked and before her stupid question could be answered she stuck her hand into the fishbowl.

Nat squeezed Delaney's left hand, and felt her right hand being squeezed by Gen. She was just about to give them both a reassuring smile when Lydia's hand emerged from the bowl, with a single white piece of paper clutched between her fingers. Did Lydia realize that she held the fate of one child in her hand? Did she even care.

Nat didn't realize that she was holding her breath, she watched as Lydia unfolded the paper and silently read the name.

"Natina Analane Henley," Lydia's voice boomed out. Nat let out her breath. Her sisters were safe, they were all safe. Their names hadn't been called. So why was Delaney yelling in anger? Why was Gen gripping her hand?

"Nat," Gen said in horror, "that's you."

"No," Nat replied back, "Lydia didn't say my name."

"Natina, Natina Henley, where are you, please come up here."

Nat felt her stomach drop. It was her. No one had called her by her full name in years, she had almost forgotten what it was. Her legs turned to jelly and she almost collapsed. But Shyla and Colten were both near her now, they were holding her up. The two of them had fought the crowds to be with their sister as soon as they had heard her name.

How were they going to survive without Nat there to take care of them? They were already short two parents, and now they were short a sister. Life was cruel. Luck was not on the Henley's side.

"I'll volunteer," Shyla whispered into Nat's ear, jolting Nat back into reality.

"Absolutely not," She shot at her sister, squaring her shoulders and heading to the center stage where Lydia awaited. She was not going to allow Shyla to risk her life.

Lydia smiled at Nat, but Nat glared back, angry at Lydia for putting the lives of the whole Henley family in danger.

"Congratulations Natina."

"It's Nat," Natina said coldly, "and I wouldn't exactly say congratulations, you say that word for something good."

Lydia wasn't fazed at all, instead she headed over to the other fish bowl that held the names of all the males in District six.

Her hand reached in, delicately plucked out a piece of paper and read the name.

"Colten Henley."

Nat could only blink. She was frozen in time as she tried to figure out what had just happened. Then an angry uproar started in the crowd, jolting her out of her nightmare.

"Pick another name," one of the onlookers cried.

"It's not fair to have two from the same family," another put in.

"No, what's done is done, what if your child is chosen in place of one of the Henley's."

"QUIET!" Mayor Jones yelled, the crowd was silenced by the menacing looks the peacekeepers gave them. He gave Nat a tragic look before addressing the crowd again, "I'm sorry, but unless there are any volunteers then Colten Henley is the male tribute for District six." He paused, but there were not any volunteers. Of course there wasn't, Nat hadn't expected any. No one was stupid enough to volunteer, not unless they wished for a death sentence.

Nat watched in horror as her younger brother climbed the stairs to the stage. She took his hand and squeezed tight. He was shaking. Or was that her vibrating uncomfortably? She couldn't be sure.

The reaped siblings held on tight to each other as they were led inside to say goodbye to their family and friends. They were given the option of separate rooms, but they chose to stay together.

It sunk in that at least one of them was going to die. They both couldn't survive, Nat knew that much. And she decided right then and there that she was going to get Colten back home. She had no idea that he was planning to keep her alive.

Shyla and Delaney burst into the room, running into Nat's open arms. Delaney had silent tears running down her cheeks while Shyla was doing everything in her power to keep her own tears at bay. Shyla was a stubborn child, but nothing would be able to stop those tears from cascading down eventually, it was only a matter of when.

"You can't both go," Delaney burst out, even though she knew the battle had been lost. Two of the four Henley children were off to war. For once in her life, Nat did not know what to say to comfort her siblings. No words could be exchanged to soothe them. That much she knew.

Gen filed into the room, she seemed wary at first, she didn't want to interrupt the sibling farewell. Nat beckoned her in.

They didn't need to exchange pleasantries, or anything for that matter. Gen knew exactly what Nat was trying to convey to her.

"I promise," Gen silently whispered back. Nat felt a tad better knowing that Gen would keep a close eye on Shyla and Delaney. She knew that her two sisters would be well cared for. No one would let them starve.

They were allowed one last hug before Nat and Colten were ushered out of the room and to the train station. Nat watched the tears fall down Shyla's face as she and her brother sat down on a bench next to the window. They were headed to battle.

Their mentors were Giga Motley and Hanger Pertilly. They had won the tenth and forty first games, respectively. Giga turned on television set so the group could watch the reapings of the other Districts.

Nat was already sizing up the competition. She had to know what she was up against if she wanted to keep her brother alive.

District one came on the screen first. The huge town center was packed with people. The escort, a gorgeous woman with glistening blonde hair stood next to the mayor.

The cameras panned around the crowd and Nat peered at the screen, trying to pick out the individual faces of the children. Two of them would soon become her enemies. She wondered which ones. The pretty girl with blonde hair and icy blue eyes standing in the section for eighteen year olds? The big burly guy with sandy hair and a menacing glare?

Nat would just have to wait and see. She didn't have to wait long before their escort reached in and pulled out a name.

"Lacey Davidson."

Lacey had sleek black hair and piercing purple eyes. Nat shuddered just looking at her.

"Toverus Opecian."

Toverus was huge, he was tall, and well built. He had muscles on him, big hulking muscles. Nat didn't stand a chance with him in the arena.

But she caught a break, because when volunteers were called for, both Lacey and Toverus were replaced.

The replacements weren't much better.

Lenea Reynolds and Stelz Marquis. They were both eighteen, it was the last year for both of them, and they both wanted the honor of becoming the champion. Only one of them could win though. Both of them determined that it would not be anyone but themselves.

The screen shifted to District 2 where Nat and Colten watched as Sadie and Dragan were declared tributes. Nat did not like the evil look upon Dragan's face. The careers had always scared her, this year was no different.

District 3 tributes were Skylar Reef and Jeremy Buckess. Jeremy was nothing fun to look at. In fact, he would probably scare the other children whenever he had on air time. Scars marred his face, his hair was wild and greasy, his clothes baggy. His stature was short and pudgy. Childhood had not been good to him.

When the girl's name was called she had frozen up, her name was said no less than ten times before she finally realized it was her name. But she walked up to the podium eventually, as if in slow motion. There was not a stitch of emotion on her face, but her eyes said a different story.

Skylar Reef looked like a force to be reckoned with. Nat hated to reckon with forces. Nothing good ever came from that. She was small, but looked extremely fit and very cunning. That was never a good combination.

Nat felt sorry for her, she felt sorry for everyone. No one should have their name pulled, no child should be forced into the arena to kill their peers. Nat did not condone murder. There was absolutely no reason for it.

District 4 was next. The last career district. Another girl who had not been saved by a volunteer, but the boy had been.

District 5 was a small girl named Nan and a boy named Reece Antine. Nat felt a tug in her heartstrings as she looked at the small girl and was reminded of Delaney. She cursed the Capitol for the millionth time in her life. It wasn't fair. Life was never fair though.

Her own district came up onto screen. She noticed the way that Lydia poised on the stage, as if she was the center of attention. She was able to pick herself out of the crowd, little Delaney smashed right beside her. Gen and her stoic look stood still and unwavering. She watched the moving pictures as she relived those horrible moments where her name was chosen.

Nat let out a not so pleasant stream of words as she watched her brother's name being picked. Damn that Capitol and everything that they were doing to Nat and her family.

Colten was silent as the reaping in their District ended.

The recap of District 7 would air next. Nat was ready to turn off the television, she was tired of watching two innocent children being chosen to be sent into the arena to murder other children.

But she couldn't, she had to know who she was up against, which was why she forced herself to keep her eyes on the screen.

All the town centers looked the same, the only thing different were the people. The District 7 escort reached her hand into the bowl and rummaged her hand around. It seemed to take her forever to find the losing name.

"Myrrah Faith," the escort said and the camera flashed to the movement in the crowd, to where a small girl stood shaking in her boots. Nat's heart felt like it would break, she almost thought that she was watching Shyla being chosen. But Shyla wasn't from that District, she was safe and well back in 6.

"NO," someone shouted from the crowd, the camera shifted to show a very determined girl who looked to be about sixteen. The girl had flaming auburn locks with ivory skin. She looked like a porcelain doll. Nat hadn't played with dolls in years. She had to grow up to young.

"She's going to volunteer," Nat predicted. Colten disagreed with her. He always did. The two siblings never saw eye to eye on anything. Nat was usually right though.

"I volunteer," the girl said loudly as she made it to Myrrah and pushed the younger girl back.

"Autumn, no," Myrrah protested, but it was no use. Autumn was standing on stage with the escort. She glared at Myrrah as they waited to find out which boy would be joining her.

"Hunter Trappe," the escort exclaimed, and a small boy was shown on screen. He looked absolutely terrified. Nat categorized him as one to die on the first day.

"Never underestimate your enemy," Colten told her as if he could read his sister's mind.

"Wanna bet?" She asked him.

"You're on."

Nat smiled, she was always right.

**District 8 reapings**

Elysia Holland sang a lullaby to baby Elynne.

_Hush now baby, don't say a word, auntie's gonna to buy you a mockingjay, and if that mockingjay don't mimic, auntie's gonna buy you a diamond ring._

"You have the prettiest singing voice Lys," Elenta said from the doorway of the nursery. She looked tired and exhausted. Elynne was keeping her up at night.

Elysia rolled her eyes at her older sister. Elysia had never been good at taking compliments, and she grew up being made fun of and ridiculed that she never knew if her sister was being sincere or not.

Elenta was now an adult though, with a husband and an infant to take care of. Elenta was the epitome of pretty, while Elysia had gotten plain looks. Elenta had always stood out in the crowd, while Elysia could disappear. She had a very forgettable face which helped her achieve her goal of being invisible.

"I have to go get ready," Elysia said, handing the baby to Elenta, "today's the reaping."

Elenta's face clouded over. She was safe from being chosen, but her newborn daughter would not be safe in twelve years. Elysia wasn't safe, neither was their brother Elijah.

"I'll see you there then sis," Elenta kept her voice even, she didn't want Elysia to know how frightened she really was. But every year, without fail, at least one tribute got chosen who Elenta loved. One year her best friend Nalisia was chosen, she had died in the initial blood bath, killed by a career. Now there were only two left who were eligible. Elysia and Elijah. She wouldn't be able to bear it if one of her siblings were reaped.

Elysia was gone. Elenta prayed that she would see her again. But something told her that she should have had a decent goodbye. At least if Elysia was reaped, then they would have a chance to say goodbye and Elenta could apologize for everything that she did to her younger sister.

Elenta changed Elynne and then she filed to the center of town where a crowd was beginning to form. Even though she was not the reaping age, she was still required to go. She was stopped numerous of times so Elynne could be cooed at.

They made it to the center and Elenta found her parents, they made sure to get a spot where they could keep an eye on both Elysia and Elijah. Elijah was surrounded by his friends and they chatted away while they waited for the mayor to begin his speech. Elysia seemed to blend in with the crowd and each time Elenta looked for her sister, it took her several minutes to pick out which one was Elysia.

The mayor finally quieted down the crowd and made his required speech. It was the same one every year, the only thing that had changed from last year was the number. Let the fifty second games begin.

Cayden Royale, the escort began with the females per usual. Her eyes narrowed as she squinted to read the name scrawled on the sheet.

"Elysia Holland," Cayden squeaked. Elenta would have laughed at Cayden's voice if it hadn't of been for the name that had just been spoken. Elysia. Elenta's heart just about stopped.

"And for the boy, we have Corbin Pierce"

At least Elijah hadn't been chosen.

The goodbyes were painful for both Elysia and Corbin. Elenta had wept with her sister in her arms, she apologized for everything and Elysia had told her it would all be okay.

They boarded the train and watched the other reapings come up on screen. They watched districts 1-7 before their own came on. It was even more painful the second time around because now Elysia could plainly see the horror in her face as her name was called.

District 9 reapings were aired. The girl was Sares Tuck, the boy was Fret Harmis.

Sares had dark hair and oval eyes, she was short and slim, but not in the sickly way. Elysia knew girls back at school who were thin as the sticks in her backyard. Most of them were that way because their parents couldn't afford to put food on the table. A few of them were starving themselves on purpose, to look beautiful and elegant like those in the more profitable districts.

Fret's eyes had a hard look about them, as if he had seen things that no one else had seen. He did not seem friendly at all and Elysia made a mental note to stay far away from him. She would not be allying with him.

Sares was already flirting with Fret up on stage, making small talk, batting her eye lashes. She seemed harmless enough. Elysia kinda thought that they could be friends, if they weren't about to be thrown into an arena to kill each other.

There was absolutely nothing special about the district 10 tributes. Both young and terrified, Corinne Dedly and Ethen Hurst would probably both die the first day. Elysia said a prayer for them.

District 11 was shown. Like all the previous districts, this one was filled to the brim with the residents. The children were all waiting for their names not to be said so they could feel safe for another year.

The two that were not safe were Casey Ellison, a fifteen year old girl with wavy brown hair and Richard Boyle, a twelve year old boy with dark brown hair and scared black eyes. There were no volunteers for them. Elysia could already see the sad ending in store for Richard, but Casey had a fight in her that would help in the arena.

**District 12 Reapings**

"Let's go Dan," Belle Petals called from the window of their tiny house in the seam. Dan was outside playing in the meadow, his favorite place to be. Unfortunately she couldn't allow him to play there right now. It was reaping day and they had to go listen to the mayor and his stupid speech and then tolerate Effie as she picked two more names to be marched off to their death.

She glanced in the mirror hanging on the wall out of habit. A pretty face stared back at her, but Belle didn't even notice. She hadn't noticed her looks since the death of her mother. Belle turned away from the mirror, away from the face that was almost an exact replica of the photo that hung on the wall next to the mirror. The only photo of her mother in the house.

Her little brother rushed into the house, his suit that Belle had so carefully washed the night before was already covered in soot. She sighed, there was nothing she could do about that now. Soot was such a common thing in the Seam that no one noticed it anyway.

She ushered her brother to the square, they were among the first people there. Belle sighed, now she would have to wait for everyone else to show up. That's what she got for constantly being early.

She separated from her brother which made her feel anxious and nervous. But the twelve year old could manage on his own. Belle fit right in with her looks, but she felt out of place. She didn't want to be here, in the crowd, with the rest of the town. She wanted to be with Dan, safe in their little house.

She didn't have to wait long before the center of town filled up and she found herself squeezed between Holiday Asher and the Donner twin that wasn't killed two years ago during the Quarter Quell.

It would suck if Donner was chosen this year, after the horrible death of her twin sister, but if she went, then Belle was safe for another year.

Donner was safe, because her name wasn't chosen, but the name Belle Petals was.

Mark Vires watched as Belle headed up to face her death. He hoped that he would not have to join Belle. She used to be sweet, funny and extremely nice. But so had he for that matter. But fate had intervened both of their lives when they were younger. Fate took both of their mothers, at different times, but the effect was still the same.

"Mark Vires," Effie said with her distinctive voice. Mark was in the games.

And so it was, two unattached, untrustworthy, standoffish kids were forced together.


	4. Chariot Rides Part 1

**District 1 Chariot Ride**

Lenea Reynolds tossed her golden mane behind her shoulders, Stelz bit his lip to keep his jaw closed. His mother was constantly telling him to keep his mouth shut around beautiful females. But there were so many beautiful ones in his district that he had trouble listening to his mother.

Lenea was almost god-like. A halo of blonde hair that lay perfectly straight down her back. Oh how he wanted to run his fingers through her hair, shout her name and breath onto her neck. Her lips were pink and luscious, oh how he wanted them on his own.

"Stop it," she scolded him.

"Huh?" He was jolted out of his daydream where she was sexily calling his name.

"Stop looking at me like that."

"Like what?"

"Like you're undressing me in your mind," she lowered her eyes to glare at him. It made her even more sexy. It was no secret in their district that Stelz was madly in love with Lenea, but the girl was unattainable. At least, that's what the huge rock on her very important finger said. But rings could always be removed.

She leaned in close to him and whispered into his ear so only he could hear, "if you survive this, Ritch is going to rip you apart for allowing me to die, and trust me, that death will be more painful than anything that can happen in the arena." She backed away from him, putting a good five feet of distance between them.

Stelz had no doubt in his mind that Ritch could and would rip him apart. Lenea's fiancé was a fierce one who had won the hunger games last year. Now it was Lenea's turn, and she was determined to join him in everlasting glory. They were to be the perfect pair.

She had to win first. He was not planning on letting her win.

"Now smile," she muttered at him as the chariot which they stood upon jerked forward. District one was leading the parade around the Capitol of Panem. They were decked out in jewels. The ring on Lenea's finger went perfect with the string of diamonds around her otherwise bare neck. There was a halo of gems above her head, she looked like an angel.

He fought the urge to throw himself at her and kiss her madly. Then he wondered why he was fighting the urge. He needed sponsors, she needed sponsors, tributes in love were always guaranteed a few rich old biddies. But they were already from District 1, they certainly had a few already. There were several old biddies out there who only supported District 1.

Her lips were luscious, her smile was golden, her cheeks were rosy. He wanted her, no, needed her. He jumped. She squealed, but knew that she couldn't fight him.

The crowd went wild as Lenea and Stelz kissed passionately. Stelz was so dead. It had been worth it.

Back in District 1, Ritch was planning his revenge. His ex-friend was going to be dead meat if he dared come back alive. Stelz had promised to keep Lenea safe, he had told Ritch that he would make sure she came home. That two-timing bastard had lied to Ritch's face.

Lenea moved her lips in time with Stelz but she was thinking about Ritch and how his kisses were so much better. She missed her fiancé so much. They had been dating for almost three years, and he had just proposed to her a few nights ago. She had planned to volunteer months ago, but that night when he got down on one knee she almost changed her mind. Because there was a small part of her that wanted to stay home with him, get married and have children. She wasn't sure if she wanted to risk her life anymore.

Then he dropped the bomb, "two winners of the game, we'll be the most talked about couple in all of Panem."

He was expecting her to volunteer and he was positive that she was going to come out of the games a winner. As she broke away from Stelz she prayed that Ritch was right.

**District 3 Chariot Ride**

Skylar Reef couldn't help but touch her dress again, just to make sure that it was still there. She was absolutely in love with it. It was beautiful and it made her intricate features really stand out. The dress was silver in color and very fluffy, it would be a good dress to spin in. The only drawback to her outfit was the machinery designs on her dress and the silver pumps on her feet.

How was she supposed to run with the dress weighing her down? She mentally slapped herself for not learning how to run in heels. Because every instinct was telling her to run. Run far and fast, get away from here.

There was a sudden pressure on her arm, she turned to see her district mate, Jeremy Buckess. She fought the urge to rip her arm away. Instead she smiled at him. He was a nice boy, she had seen him once or twice back home, but she had never known his name. Not until it had been chosen at the reaping.

And now they were thrown together. The District 2 chariot was in front of them, the tributes Sadie and Dragan were causing quite a stir, and not the good kind either. The crowd had erupted happily for District 1, but the eruption for District 2 was definitely not a happy kind. Skylar couldn't be positive but it looked like Dragan's hands were around Sadie's neck. That couldn't be good. Maybe the careers would have a split alliance this year, which would be very helpful.

Skylar watched Sadie throw a punch, but Dragan ducked, grinning evilly. Skylar was suddenly frightened for her life. The reality if it all was finally sinking in. She had to go into the arena with them? She hoped that they would finish each other off in the chariot, two less for her to worry about. But their fight broke up and her chariot lurched forward.

Skylar threw a smile on her face and waved to the crowd. She tried to look cool and aloof, that was what her mentor, Dixie, had wanted. Ditsy Dixie was stupid, she didn't know squat about Skylar. But Dixie was calling the shots right now.

"Cool and aloof," she whispered to herself, hoping that Dixie actually did know what she was talking about. Doubtful though. Dixie was one of those mentors who cared more about her image then her tributes well being. Well Skylar was just going to have to win the games all on her own, she didn't need anyone else's help. She was strong, she was determined and she was in it to win it.

Jeremy Buckess on the other hand had nothing to go home to. He knew that he would never see District 3 again. He would never hear the whir of the factories ever again, he would never have to sit there making ties or pounding shoes together. That was freedom in itself.

**District 7 Chariot Ride**

"Paper," Autumn Faith muttered under her breath, "damn paper."

"I think you look cute," Hunter Trappe volunteered.

"I wasn't going for cute," she muttered as they watched one of the chariots parade around. The District 4 tributes were decked out as mermaids. Autumn would give almost anything to be in that chariot instead. At least they looked a tad more comfortable then she did, even if they were wearing tails.

But nooo, Autumn had to be wearing paper. Paper! Why did she have to be from the paper district. Couldn't her prep team have come up with something unique, something special? It was just her luck that Luc De'n was her stylist. He was angry with the Capital, he had been the stylist of one of the career districts last year. But his extraordinary outfits had caused quite a controversy. Autumn was currently suffering from his mistake last year.

Autumn tried to get her mind off of her horrible outfit made from paper. She turned back to the parade. The tributes of District 5 looked small and frail, and Autumn had no idea what they were supposed to be. They were dressed in red and blue, and had spirals going up and down their bodies. She had seen that outfit before during one another game.

"I think they're DNA," Hunter put in.

"DNA?" Autumn asked, the word sounded familiar, but she had never paid much attention in school, instead she exchanged notes with Noelle.

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours," he smirked.

"Shut your trap," she shot at him, then covered her mouth when the tributes from the other districts looked over at her from their Chariots.

"You'll have to hunt for it first," he stepped away from her. Sometimes his horrible name that his parents so willingly blessed him with could come in handy.

"It's not big enough to find."

"Ouch," his face was filled with hurt, but Autumn knew that it was just for show, she rolled her eyes and watched as the siblings from District 6 rolled through the crowd. The last time two siblings had participated in the same games was two years ago. It had ended badly with both of them dying within minutes of each other. She had felt extremely bad for the family, to lose two kids in one year. It had to suck. And now it was going to happen again, and it might even be Autumn herself to cause one or both of their deaths. She shook that thought away, it was too gruesome.

Their chariot pulled out next and Autumn blinked as the bright spotlights found her and her paper dress. Paper.


	5. Chariot Rides Part 2

**District 9 Chariot Ride**

Sares never thought that food could be sexy. She had seen million beyond million of games. She had seen the Chariot rides of previous years. She had laughed at some of the outfits that the tributes were forced to wear and parade around. She had oohed and aahed at others. Some were decent, others were horrible. Some made her want to cry.

Overall, she was satisfied with her outfit. After all, who wouldn't mind a necklace of grapes, and they were very delicious too. So were the ones around Fret's neck. His necklace was missing quite a few red grapes. The fan of palm leaves above her head made a brilliant breeze and helped her black hair fly backwards in perfect motion.

Fret Harmis regarded Sares with a cool tolerance. He didn't know what he thought of her so far. At first he thought that she was just another giggly girl with zero personality. But he couldn't help but watch the way that she flipped her hair, she seemed so confidant and put together. He was actually jealous of her charismatic charm. The crowd was going wild for Sares. But who could blame them. She was pretty and charming with a very contagious smile. He even found himself grinning, but upon realizing it he turned his mouth back to a scowl.

He didn't have much experience with girls, in fact, he thought that they were a nuisance. But he was glad that he was stuck with Sares for the games. At least she wasn't ignoring him like the other girls back home would. At home he was treated like an infectious disease that no one wanted to catch.

It probably didn't help that he had been caught stealing Loretta Pike's silky underpants from the girls gym room. And no one could prove that it had been Fret that had stolen Mayor Pertioullis toupee and had hung it on the flagpole. And the goats that had been let loose in the school with the numbers 1, 2, and 4 spray painted on their sides had totally not been him.

**District 10 Chariot Ride**

All little Corinne Dedly could think about was her dog Angus. Who was going to take care of him now? Not her father, he could barely take care of himself, he probably didn't even realize that his daughter was missing. Corinne had shed lots of tears since her name had been picked, but not one of them had been for her father. In fact, the only good thing about being reaped was the fact that she could get away from him and never have to see him again.

Her brother was too busy with his new life, wife and baby. They had both escaped from the clutches of their father, but through different ways. At least her brother would still be alive in a few weeks time, the same could not be said for herself.

Corinne knew that she was going to die in the games, that much was certain. Unless she could find a decent hiding spot and lay low until only one tribute was left. But that strategy almost never worked.

She glanced over at the male from her district Ethen Hurst. He looked just as scared as she felt. She reached for his hand and he gave her a tentative smile. Their chariot lurched forward and she was forced into the limelight. Not a very good feeling for an introvert. She wanted to hide right now.

Corinne's favorite animal was a turtle, because whenever they got scared they could hide in their shell. That's what she wanted to come back as when she died. If a turtle lost his shell, would he be homeless or naked? It didn't matter, either way he was dead.

Ethen Hurst was glad to be holding Corinne's hand, even though he still thought girls were yucky. His older brother had often said that he would get over that eventually. Well Thom was wrong. Ethen Hurst would never get a chance to fall in love with a girl, because he was going to be dead in a few weeks time.

"Keep your head in the games Ethen, don't lose focus, and whatever you do, think positive," Thom had told his brother during the goodbyes. Ethen had always been a good listener, he just wasn't very good at following advice.

**District 11 Chariot Ride**

Casey Ellison had her eyes on the prize. The prize's name was Stelz Marquis, and she was going to kill him. It wouldn't be Sheath O'Malley, the boy who had killed her own brother in a previous game, but it would be close enough. At the moment, Stelz was snogging the girl from his District. She wondered if he loved her, because if he did then she would kill her first while Stelz was watching. The best way to get revenge was to kill a loved one.

It took her several moments to realize that she was plotting the death of two people in her mind. She easily saw herself strangling the girl with the boy watching. She could see Lenea's eyes widen and then go limp and dull. She imagined Stelz's cry of anguish, and a plea to be spared.

"Ugh, when did I become so gruesome," she muttered as she tried to clear her mind, but it would feel so good to spear him in his heart, just like Sheath O'Malley had done to her brother four years ago.

"Probably around the time that I became so depressed," Richard said with such a low voice that Casey suspected that he was suicidal. She had not known the boy, but she had seen him around town. And he had always looked so happy and full of life. He had always been surrounded by friends, and there was always a smile on his floppy face. Not anymore.

He had changed the moment that his slip had been pulled, from the time it took Renata to say his name to when he stepped into the train with Casey, he was a different person. Gone was the sweet little boy with friends galore, and in his place was a boy whose fire had been snuffed out.

She wanted to comfort him, but she was at loss for words. What was she supposed to say to a scared little boy who she was supposed to kill in a few days time?

"I'll protect you," she found herself saying, and almost took it back. She wanted, no, needed, to kill at least two careers, how was she supposed to do that if she had to watch a twelve year old's back.

_"I'll always protect you Casey," Dynami had said as he wrapped his arms around his younger sister._

_"Why?" She had asked._

_"Because I'm your older brother, and it's my job to make sure that you're safe."_

She had to protect Richard, he was young and defenseless, and it was what her brother would have done.

Their ride came to an end and Casey swiveled around to see the last chariot make it's rounds. She had always felt bad for District 12, there wasn't much the stylists could do with their outfits.

Belle Petal's cool and indifferent face stared out at the Capitol crowd, just daring them to utter a single word about her appearance.

Casey had thought that Autumn's paper outfit had been terrible, but compared to being rubbed in soot with a head lamp, it was an elegant ball gown.


	6. Training Part 1

**District 2 Training**

Sadie Cross joined Yvonne at the table for breakfast.

"Where's everyone else?" She asked, the room was empty save for the two of them. Sadie wasn't too keen on the idea of being stuck in the room with just Yvonne for company.

The door swung open and an avox hurried in carrying a platter of food.

Sadie was just famished and the food had barely been set down on the table before Sadie dug in, causing her to merit a very unsatisfactory grunt from Yvonne. Sadie ignored the escort.

"You're supposed to wait for us," Jael chastised her sister as she bounced in the room. Jael had way too much energy for one person.

"You were late," Sadie said between bites, causing food to spray out.

"The mentor is never late, the tribute is simply early," Jael said as she wiped some food particles off of her outfit, "and you really should learn to keep your mouth shut while you're eating." She gave a disgusted look to her sister.

Sadie was about to make a nasty comment that she would later regret when the door opened and Dragan and Hervidde walked in.

Sadie changed her comment to a glare, Dragan returned it.

"The games haven't even started yet and you two have already declared war," Hervidde did not sound happy.

"What happened to District loyalty?" Jael asked as she made herself a plate of food and settled down next to Sadie.

"It went out the door as soon as he volunteered," Sadie said nastily, shooting her target another glare, and earned her one from her sister. Oh how he made her blood boil. She was ready to go into the arena and hash it out with him. He was ready to go into the arena and finish her.

"First the fight on the chariot, then open hostility here, that's not good Sadie," Jael said as she chewed.

"You really should learn to keep your mouth shut while you're eating," Sadie turned Jael's own words against her. Jael was not happy, she marched over to Sadie and pulled her up by the elbow. Sadie was dragged against her will to the corner of the room. Dragan, Hervidde and Yvonne watched curiously from the table.

"You will go to training, you will behave, and you will make an alliance with the other careers," Jael's voice was clipped and her intention was clear. Sadie rolled her eyes, she planned to go to training, but only because she had to, but the other two instructions, she had no plans to follow them.

Jael knew exactly what her sister was thinking, she leaned in close to Sadie, "you will do this Sadie, you will do as I tell you, and not because I am your sister, but because I am your mentor. My job is to keep you alive."

Jael had been the mentor for the females of District 2 for six years, this would be her seventh year, and none of her tributes had won a game yet. Jael was determined to see Sadie win, she knew that her sister would. Jael had proven herself as a champion of the Games, now she had to prove herself as a mentor. She would be victorious, Jael was a sore loser.

"They have to get going if you want them there on time," Yvonne spoke up. Dragan was already out the door.

Jael gave Sadie one last look before the younger sister hurried after her district partner.

Sadie entered the big room meant for training. Dragan was already there, standing in the circle with the others, but at the same time, he seemed to be all alone, off in his own little corner. All the other tributes were frightened of him. She didn't blame them. He was very scary looking.

She located the careers and headed over there. Jael was right, the careers were her best bet, for now.

Lenea and Stelz watching the younger tributes and trying to pick out the weak ones. The boy from 4 was there, but not the girl.

"Looks like it's just the four of us this year," Stelz commented as Sadie stood next to Lenea. Everyone had their district number pinned to their back, and soon Sadie had a 2 on her.

The other tributes arrived and they were released to wander about on their own. Sadie joined Lenea, Stelz and the boy whose name she learned was Nemo at the obstacle course station. Sadie had often done obstacle courses in gym class at school. This was nothing like she was used to.

She had to use all of her senses, and all of her muscles. Her arms were killing her by the time she finished climbing the trees. She should have paid more attention when Jael was trying to train her. Oops, well now she would know for next time. Too bad there would be no next time. No second chances, no do-overs, this was life. She had to deal with it. Even if that meant going into an arena to kill her friends, her enemies, children, teenagers, Dragan. She hated him, but did she really want him dead. Maybe.

**District 5 Training**

Nan Weatherall glanced around the room nervously. All tributes were loitering around the room. Numerous stations were lined up against the walls. Knot tying, fire starting, shelter building, plant identifying….everything that Nan needed to know to survive. Nothing that she already knew. Good thing she was a fast learner with an almost perfect memory.

She was going to hit each station and learn as much as she could in the given time. She left Reece, her District partner, and headed to the knot station first where Anya was already correcting the man on the proper way to do a slit knot.

Anya ignored Nan as she settled in to learn a lesson in knots. She was filled with questions to be answered. Anya left around Nan's sixth question. She was soon replaced by the boy from 11, Richard.

"Wow, you're good," he exclaimed in awe. Nan continued to move her fingers as she weaved yet another knot.

"She's a quick learner, that's for sure," the guy manning the station agreed.

Nan ignored them both as she silently learned yet another knot.

Mrs. Weatherall was constantly saying how much her daughter needed to learn some social skills. Nan was to shut off for her mother's taste. Luckily there was not a 'How to win friends and influence people' station. More like a 'how to kill your friend and dismember your enemy' station. She would go there next.

The knives scared Nan, but she wouldn't let her fear show as she gingerly held a small paring knife.

"Now throw it at the target, aim for the red center" the man at the knife station guided her.

She took a deep breath before aiming, a knife whizzed past her ear. She jumped in surprise and Dragan came into view. He was laughing at her. She looked at the target, he had pierced the dead center.

He leaned close, his breath reeked, "better watch it, soon that will be your heart," he threatened before sauntering off to terrorize another tribute. If anyone was racking up enemies, it sure was Dragan.

**District 6 Training**

Get three children up, make them breakfast, pack their lunch bags, make sure they brush their teeth. Get them to school, pay attention in class, pretend to take notes. Grab three children from school, take them home, help them with homework, feed them dinner, scrub behind their ears, put them to bed, clean up the house, go to bed. Repeat daily. That was what Nat Henley was good at.

Climbing trees, running, hiding in caves, swimming, that was all things that Nat Henley was not good at. That was exactly what she needed to be good at. But she was afraid of heights, she was claustrophobic, she squealed at any small insect and had to have Colten take care of bugs. She was out of shaped and had no time to even learn how to doggy paddle.

She was screwed.

But there was one thing Nat had that none of the other tributes did, and that was a brother in the games and a determination to keep him alive. She was trying to keep Colten alive, not herself, and that was the best motivation of them all.

Currently her motivation was staring at a pretty girl over at the herb and plant station.

She knocked him in the head, "pay attention dolt, you need to know this," she hissed at him.

"Ouch Nat, I probably just lost a gazillion brain cells."

"You had none to begin with."

"So how am I supposed to learn if I have no brain cells?" Colt asked her.

"Why are you staring at her backside anyway?" Nat changed the subject.

"She has a pretty ass."

"Colt!" Nat exclaimed in horror, "I can't believe you just said that."

"Why not? It's the truth."

"Well the truth is, you smell, but I have never told you that before."

Colt sniffed himself, "I smell fine Nat, besides, you always tell me that."

"Colt," Nat said his name again, but this time she said it softly, as if she was breaking some bad news to him and didn't want to upset him. He had a feeling he was going to be upset anyway.

"The truth is she'll probably be dead in a few days time."

"I know, so that means I have no time to lose," and before Nat could stop him, he jumped up and ran over to the herb and plant station where a girl with a very sexy ass had no idea what was in store for her.

Nat cursed.

She was joined by the two from eight.

"I'm Corbin and this is Elysia," the boy said as they sat knelt down beside her. They were handed a flint and told to start a fire.

Nat had been trying for almost a half hour and still hadn't even had a spark. Elysia had a fire within two minutes.

If it had been Colten, then he would already be bragging about he could start a fire and his older sister couldn't. Elysia was nothing like her brother. She was sweet but very quiet. Acne littered her face, and her constant picking had caused massive scars.

Once Nat managed to start a fire, with Elysia's help, they moved on to shelter building. Nat wasn't strong enough to lift a branch without help. Corbin could move two branches all by himself. Another disadvantage for Nat.

She soon gave up on shelter building, she hoped that there was shelter already there, doubtful, but every now and then the gamemakers added some huts.

She went through the other tributes in her mind, ticking off those that were already her enemy, trying to figure out who she could ally with and not get stabbed in the back while she was sleeping. She just found one advantage, she could get by with little sleep. Raising three children had made her lose countless hours of sleep. One night Delaney would be sick and Nat stayed up all night taking care of her. Or when Shyla had a nightmare then Nat would just talk to her sister all night and keep her company. Nat didn't need as much sleep as everyone else, and she sure wouldn't fall asleep during watches.

One advantage, thousands of disadvantages.


	7. Training Part 2

**District 7 Training**

Autumn Faith had yet to figure out her strategy for the games. Hunter already had one, but she didn't. She had seen so many different strategy's played, and each year a different one won. There was no correct way to play the games. No rulebook to help her win. No codes, no cheats, just her.

She had to figure it out all on her own. No father to guide her, no mother to remind her of the rules, no older brother to make fun of her decisions, no younger sister to copy her actions. Her parents had already been taken from her, now so were her siblings. She was all on her own. Wasn't that supposed to be liberating? Wasn't she supposed to feel free? Instead it felt like imprisonment.

Her mentor Daisey Doodle, a fast talking red head who had won almost twenty years ago, had told Autumn not to appear too strong, or too weak. She was supposed to find a happy medium so the other tributes wouldn't over or under estimate her.

So she was steering clear of the strength station. Autumn didn't look it, but she was extremely strong. All those hours after school at the lumber yard had paid off. She also needed to stay away from the snare and hunting station.

She was terrified of snakes. One had bitten her cousin and he was dead an hour later. There was no way she'd be able to get close enough to one to kill it. Animals in general frightened her, she hadn't grown up with pets, there weren't many wild animals running around her district and she preferred human company.

So she headed to the edible plants and berries station. She'd have to eat something to stay alive and she couldn't see herself killing a baby bunny for supper.

Hunter was already there. Autumn wasn't sure if she wanted an alliance in the game. It might come in handy, but so many tributes had died at the hand of an "ally" and she didn't want to be one of the statistics. But since Hunter was from her District, maybe he would be a good choice, maybe there was such thing as District Loyalty.

"How about we just gather all the poisonous berries and stick it the packs of the others." Hunter said as he squinted at a bright purple branch filled with dark berries. It was labeled "poisonous."

"Only if I can be the one to stick the berries in the packs," Autumn replied as she flipped through a book and tried to commit the berries that were safe to memory.

"That's the dangerous part," he pointed out.

"Exactly," she said, she thought back to a memory that she had stored away in her brain. It was from when her parents were still alive.

_They were all out at the lake. Her parents were lounging about on a rock. Autumn, Leo and Myrrah were exploring the area, it had been Leo's idea to climb to the top, where the waterfall was. Myrrah wasn't too keen on the idea and she scurried back to their parents to tattle tale. That was one thing that younger siblings were exceptional about. Myrrah especially loved to get Autumn and Leo in trouble. It was not one of her redeeming qualities. _

_It was an absolutely perfect day. Autumn loved those fall days, where the wind would lightly brush through her hair, where the sun wouldn't burn her skin to a crisp. She was neither too hot nor too cold. _

_Her brother was peering over the edge of the waterfall, judging how high they were. Autumn had the sudden urge to place her hand on his back and gently push._

"_Don't do it," he had warned her without even turning around. She put on her innocent face._

"_What are you talking about dear brother of mine?"_

"_Don't play innocent on me, that halo is being held up by horns."_

_She laughed and made horns with her fingers. He grabbed for her, tickling her, she jumped away._

"_How about we both jump?" He asked her. "It's not that far to the water, and it's pretty deep, you won't hit the rocks."_

_Autumn had seen others jump from the top, and they had all made it out alive. She was considering it when Leo let go of her and ran to the edge. She called out his name as he disappeared from sight. She heard a splash and then he called her name. He was safe._

_Autumn wasn't sure why she did it, but she found her legs pumping underneath her and soon there was no ground. She was free falling and it was liberating. It was over too soon, she hit the water, hard and sank to the bottom._

"_Oh, right, I don't know how to swim," she thought as she opened her eyes underwater and watched the fish dart away from her. Leo grabbed her arm and pulled her up._

_There was a welcoming party waiting for them. The lectures started, Myrrah had a very smug grin on her face. If her siblings were getting yelled at, that meant that she wasn't.  
_

"_You're too reckless," her mother had shouted, "You could have drowned, you can't swim."_

"_We don't want anything to happen to you," her father had added as he put a soothing hand on his wife's back._

_They had died the next day._

Too reckless. Life was short, Autumn wanted to have fun before her life ended. She would just have to make the most out of the games.

**District 9 Training**

Sares Tuck was tucked in a circle with several other tributes. All of them of the male variety. Forget training, she was making friends. Sares wanted an alliance with someone. She craved human interaction. She would go crazy if she had no one to talk to. Maybe she should bring a volleyball as her token. That was she'd have something to chat to, even if it didn't talk back.

Sares was an extravert, she loved being the center of attention and was used to always having someone around to talk to. The boys stood no chance against her good looks, her pretty face, her long eyelashes. She was an expert at batting them and getting the boys to obey her every command.

Her stratagem for the games was to make an alliance with the guys. She was interviewing candidates for the job, they just didn't know it.

Fret Harmis watched as his District partner flirted with almost half of the other guys. She felt him staring at her, she met his eyes and gave him a quick smile. He found himself smiling back. He shook his head, trying to clear it. She had that effect on all the guys though, not just him.

He wondered if she would still be smiling if she knew that there was a small paper sign on her back, and it was not of the 'kick me' variety. He sidled over to the group and listened to Sares chat up the group. Her hands flew around as she talked, making weird motions and signs.

Fret almost wished that he hadn't of put that sign on her back, almost. But he was not one for taking things back. Once something was done and over with, that was it. No take backs, no do-overs. Just live with what had happened.

He had to live with the fact that one of his jokes had gotten a girl at school killed. He had to live with the fact that Tadia Hunten was dead and not coming back. He had to live with that secret all by himself, no one knew that it had been his fault, no one but him, and Tadia, but who was she going to tell?

He was the only one out of the twenty four who had ever killed another human. He didn't want to do it again.

**District 11 Training**

Casey Ellison watched the District 9 girl interact with the guys, she couldn't remember her name. Richard had just joined her, and his face was animated with something along the lines of happiness. She was glad to see him enjoying himself. He had been so frightened the last few days. He was no longer clinging to her, but she found that she rather missed him tagging along after her.

The girl turned and Casey saw a flash of something on her back. Casey was too far away to read what it said, but something told her that it wasn't anything pleasant. Casey wondered which jokester had put it there.

From the way Fret was looking at the girl, Casey had a good idea who had done the deed. She rolled her eyes. Some kids could be so immature. She got up from the herb and plant station and went over to the circle.

"Hi, I'm Casey," she smiled as she put an arm around the girl, making sure to 'accidentally' brush the paper. The boys glared at Casey for interrupting them.

"Sares, and these lovely lads are Jeremy, Reece, Corbin, Ethen, Fret and Richard."

Casey removed her arm, the paper came with, she quickly tucked it away. "It was nice to meet you, good luck," she smiled at the group and then sauntered away.

"Hey, Casey, wait up," Richard called, she turned to see the boy prancing after her. She smiled, she was glad to have him back.

She headed back to the herb and plant station with Richard on her tail. They engrossed themselves in the books, trying to commit the pictures to memory.

"Hi," someone from behind her said. Casey didn't recognize the voice. She knew it belonged to one of the tributes, but she didn't know which one, there were so many of them. She had yet to memorize everyone's name.

She turned to see a boy, but she couldn't even remember what district he was from.

"Colt, District 6," he smiled at her, and she couldn't help but smile back. He was cute, for a condemned boy. He had sleepy eyes and a floppy smile, his ears were slightly too big and his nose too small. But all of his flaws made him even more attractive.

"Casey, District 11," she replied.

"Nice to meet you Casey," Colt said as he settled down in the chair next to her. Her heart did a little flip flop. She tried to silence it, now was not the time to develop a crush on someone.

"Richard, District 11," Richard piped up, causing a ripple of laughter between them.

They fell into a pleasant banter, it was clear that Colt was easy to get along with, easy to like. His eyes crinkled when he laughed, his brow furrowed when he was thinking, he unconsciously tapped his left food when he was thinking or nervous.

Casey almost wished that she had never met him. That he was safe in his own District, because then she wouldn't have to wrap her mind around the fact that one or both of them was going to die.

From the moment her name was chosen, she knew that life would never be the same. Looking at Colten Henley, she knew that it was true. Her life had changed.

**District 12 Training**

There were too many people around for Belle's taste. She just wanted to disappear into the floor, or the wall. It felt as if everyone's eyes were on her, as if she was the center of a bad joke. She didn't like that feeling. She just wanted to be back home with her brother. It was the only place where she felt safe, he was the only one that she trusted.

Mark was at one of the stations, she wasn't sure which one. Haymitch hadn't been much help in the mentor department, he was drunk at the moment and hadn't given them any advice at all. She wasn't sure if she was supposed to be nice to Mark or if she should leave him alone.

He was a loner, like she was, very quiet and shy. They had barely said two words to each other. The thing about untrustworthy introverts was that they understood each other. They knew the need to be alone, the feeling of anxiety in a big crowd. Introverts understood that extroverts craved attention, that they loved to talk. Introverts needed extroverts, that way all the attention would be directed at the extroverts and the introverts could stay in their shell.

But Belle didn't trust extroverts, she didn't trust introverts either, or anyone for that matter. Only her little brother Dan. But he wasn't with her, he was back at home, safe in District 12, or at least, safer then she was. Because she wasn't safe in the least bit. Panem wanted her dead, or at least, they wanted twenty three children dead out of twenty four. The odds were not in her favor. She cursed Effie Trinket and her annoying saying. The odds were never in Belle's favor.

"You're Belle, right?" One of the girls asked as she violated Belle's personal bubble space. Belle could only nod. "I'm Skylar, District 3," Skylar twirled around so Belle could see the number 3 pinned on her back.

Belle tried to ignore Skylar, but there was something about the girl, something that she just couldn't ignore. It might be the way that Skylar stood next to Belle, barely giving her space to breath, or the fact that Skylar was an extrovert and could carry on the conversation without help. Skylar refused to give up, and for that, Belle had to give her some credit. She just wished that Skylar would go bother someone else. Like Mark, anyone but her.

Belle wanted to be left alone to her own devices, she didn't want friends, or allies, or even enemies for that matter. She just wanted to be locked in her own little world. Sometimes the best friendships began because one wouldn't give up on the other.


	8. Private Sessions Part 1

**Private Sessions Part 1**

Flamiken sat at the head table with the other gamemakers. They were ready for the next group of tributes. Twenty four new children were going to show them what they were good out. Flamiken always got a hoot out of some of the tributes. One year a District 5 boy just sang a ballad, he had a horrible singing voice, but Flamiken gave him a five for having the guts to sing, not that it would actually help in the games though.

Now she waited for the door to open and the first tribute to walk in. The boy from 1, Stelz Marquis was first on the list.

She exchanged a look with the other Gamemakers, they were all smiling, ready, the earlier Districts were always the fun ones to watch.

Stelz finally barged into the room. Flamiken never conversed with the tributes, she had more fun letting them try to figure out what to do. Sometimes one of the other Gamemakers would take pity on them and tell them to begin or something like that, but not Flamiken. She was the silent, observant one.

Flamiken was good at reading people, she had been a Gamemaker ever since she was in her twenties, which added up to a long time, but she would never reveal how long. Her age was a sacred number that no one knew.

Before Stelz even made his first move, Flamiken already had him pegged to the tee. She knew exactly what he was going to do. The huge boulder in the corner never stood a chance against his strength and Flamiken knew that it weighed more than she did. It went careering across the room, landing almost in the middle. She had never seen a tribute through that rock that far.

Next he picked up a sword and went around loping off the heads of the targets. She had seen that before. He did a few more maneuvers with the knife, did a few sprints, but he wasn't that great of a runner, he was too big, his legs would never be able to carry him that far for that long. She jotted that down, she would have to remember that once the games got started.

Stelz was dismissed, and his district partner from 1 sauntered in. Lenea gave them a sexy smile as she got to work showing her talent. And boy did she have talent. Her knives that she threw made her target every time without fail. Her fingers flew as she weaved a trap of knots. She ran from point a to point b in less time than it took her fellow Gamemaker Volouth to eat a sandwich. And he could scarf down a roast beef sandwich in less time than it took her to drink a shot of vodka. Flamiken wished that she had a shot of vodka with her so she could chug it.

Eventually Lenea finished showing off and she was granted exit from the room, much to Volouth's displeasure. He liked to look at the pretty girls, and Lenea had the goods. But Flamiken knew that he wouldn't be disappointed, there were still eleven more girls to go, and there were some pretty ones at that.

Dragan Halberd walked in and Flamiken fought the urge to run away. He scared her, which was difficult to do since she had seen so many games, so many scary tributes. He reminded her of that one tribute Titus, that she had to have eliminated in the games because he was eating the dead children, which did not go over well.

Dragan was strong, quick, good with knives. He would be a good contender. He seemed like the guy who would get the most kills during the first battle at the cornucopia.

Sadie Cross entered the room next, and it felt relieving to see a friendly face. But it was boring to see yet another fast runner. There were always so many of those. But there was always one who was faster than everyone else. Sadie had been faster than Lenea, but there were still others, and one might be faster than Sadie.

Then Sadie did something that Flamiken had never seen before. Sadie grabbed a knife and plunged it into her own skin, blood poured out, but Sadie never made a face, there was never a grimace of pain. Nothing. Sadie tolerated the cut as if it was just an annoying mosquito. As if she cut herself every day.

Another surprising thing about Sadie was that she could use a bow, and her arrows almost always hit the target, although, one did bounce off and headed towards the table. Luckily, if it would have hit, which it didn't, it would have hit the other end of the table, where Tamisicus was sitting.

Jeremy, the boy from 3, was next, his stylist had tried to cover up the scars on his face, but they were still there, itching to be seen. Flamiken wasn't scared of him like she had been of Dragan, she just felt sorry for Jeremy. He didn't have much talent, he probably just stayed indoors all day so others wouldn't stare at his face.

Skylar was yet another girl who could run. Sadie still held the award for being the faster runner. Lenea was in close second with Skylar being the third faster runner. Flamiken loved to rank the runners, because there were always so many of them.

Skylar scaled the wall, which Flamiken thought would have been impossible, there were no foot holds, no crevices, but somehow, Sklyar managed to almost get to the top, she was able to touch the ceiling when she extended her hand. Then, without warning, she pounced, she just let go and jumped from the wall. She landed like a cat, on all fours. Flamiken thought that Skylar was going to start preening herself. Skylar stood up and was awarded with an applause from Tamisicus. Flamikin shot her sister a look. Tamisicus didn't look a bit put off by the look, instead she turned to Skylar and thanked the girl.

After District 3 came 4, and Nemo Kai walked in. He was good with a spear, Flamiken had expected nothing less from a boy from the fishing district.

Anya O'dell was also good with a spear, but her hands shook as if she was nervous, but when she found a trident hidden amongst the other weapons her face took on a dreamy look. Then she attacked, and it seemed as if she had turned into a crazed Amazon woman.

Anya then weaved a fishing net with knots, a deadly trap. Flamiken was very taken with the girl, she seemed smart, determined, deadly.

Reece Antine , the boy from 5 wasn't anything special, he had that smart look about him, the textbook smart look, not the street smart look. His skin was pale as if he spent his days shut inside studying mathematics and science.

His District partner, Nan Weatherall had the same smart look about her. But she had other hidden talents as well. Such as her ability to squeeze herself into the tiniest of locations. She was a very good hider. She was also a speedy runner. What a shocker. Flamiken added Nan to the rankings of the runners.

District 6 was next. The boy, Colten, was first, he could run, but not fast enough to get him into the rankings, all the girls were still faster than him. He was able to pick out the poisonous berries, and he pretended to feed them to the dummy targets. He had a sense of humor, Flamiken liked that.

His sister was next. Natina Henley. She had a rounder face then her brother, her eyes were darker, her smile thinner, but Flamiken could still see the family resemblance. Nat didn't even tempt to run, for which Flamiken was grateful and Volouth wasn't. He liked to watch the females run.

After the first six Districts, the Game makers were allowed a break so they could discuss the first half of the tributes. And discuss they did.


	9. Private Sessions Part 2

Flamiken sighed in frustration. They could never agree on anything. At the moment they were arguing over one score. One measly score! Which, to be honest, was much better than last year where they had argued over every last score. Every single one.

They had seen the talents of twelve tributes so far, and had eleven scores already figured out, just thirteen more to go. Maybe today would actually be an early day. Last year they had deliberated until seconds before the scores were aired.

"Let's just come up with a score before," Flamiken consulted her list, "Hunter Trappe walks in."

A few of the Gamemakers chuckled at his name. Flamiken glared at them. "There will be no laughing at the tributes," she warned them. They fell silent. The results of the last time they had dared laugh at a tribute still gave most of them nightmares.

"I still think we should go low," Wendetta said in her high squeaky voice that always made Flamiken want to gauge her ears out so she'd never have to hear it again.

"But he was very good," Tamisicus mused, much to her sisters chagrin. The two had never agreed on anything. Tami, a flighty airhead and Flami, as steady as the beating drums.

"He was frightening," Wendetta shivered as she thought back to his moments in the room with her. For a second she had wanted to write up a will just in case.

"Just do a nine," Flamiken finally cut in. The others glared, but she always had the last word, always. A nine was scrawled down, and just in time.

The door swung open and Hunter Trappe shot in.

"Good morning," he said cheerfully, the only tribute to speak so far.

"Good morning yourself," Tamisicus replied back. Hunter seemed very at ease, as if he did this every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

"So what can you do?" Tamisicus asked the boy. Hunger grinned, giving them a 'wouldn't you like to know' look. Frankly, Flamiken didn't really care what he could do, as long as he showed them so that she could give him a proper score.

"So get this, my dad works in the lumber mill like most of the other men in my district. Well for several weeks, a huge snake had been terrorize the workers, one even died of a bite. So they asked my dad to set a trap for the snake, and my father says, what makes you think I can set up a trap?' and another answered back, 'because that's your middle name.' And my dad replied, 'no, that's my last name."

Hunter paused for a few seconds, then he continued. "So the other guy says, 'what about your son?' and my father said, 'what about my son?' 'Will he hunt 'er down and trap 'er for us?"

Ah, so they had a comedian in their midst. All Flamiken could hear were crickets. Hunter wasn't the least bit phased. "I know, I know, lame joke, but so is my name." That got a few chuckles.

"So what else can you do sweetie?" Tamisicus asked again. Flamiken gave her sister a mental headslap, but if Tami felt it, she just ignored it. Flamiken knew that when her sister gave a tribute a pet name, then she was quite taken by him. Tamisicus had fallen for Hunter, hook, line and sinker. Good thing Gamemakers couldn't sponsor, otherwise Tamisicus would be first in line to sponsor Hunter, and she didn't have a dime to her name. Flamiken, on the other hand, was a saver and had tons of money holed away, Tamisicus, sneaky little mongoose that she was, had found a few of the hiding spots. But she would search for every last dime if she was able to sponsor.

"Besides tell lame jokes and have people laugh awkwardly?" Hunter asked, causing more chuckles to echo around the room. Hunter shrugged, "honestly, not much, although, I can make some killer eggplant parmesan."

"Yum, sounds delicious," Tamisicus replied, Flamiken coughed, "but I'm sorry sweetie, your time is up."

"Have a good day," Hunter called as he left the room.

"I like him," Tamisicus announced while they waited for Autumn to join them.

Flamiken sighed when she saw Autumn. Not another runner, she groaned. Autumn had long legs, and a fit body, she definitely fit the bill of being a runner. Volouth would be ecstatic. Especially with her auburn hair. Volouth had a thing for redheads. Flamiken knew that all too well. She had been named because of her flaming red hair.

Sure enough, Autumn sprinted over to where the axes and knives were kept. She picked up an axe, held it high above her head, and brought it down in a single motion. The room vibrated and a sharp crack was heard. She had split open the floor. These tributes were surprising Flamiken left and right. She would have to get her head examined when this was over.

She was dismissed before she could cause any more damage. But the girl wasn't done yet, she shot them a dirty look before racing to the door. She had an attitude problem. Flamiken jotted that down before the boy from 8 walked in.

There was nothing special about Corbin, nothing that stuck out, he was too frightened to even look at the knives, he was too weak to run, he was too nervous to tell jokes. He barely stayed in the room for two minutes before his face turned green and he had to be dismissed so he wouldn't vomit everywhere.

Elysia, the girl from 8, was almost as nervous as Corbin, but not quite to the vomit stage yet. She picked up some paints and began to fill in her body, before Flamiken knew it, Elysia was no longer there, just the floor and various weapons. The girl stayed still, unmoving, and Flamiken was finding herself bored.

Volouth finally had enough. He wanted to see the girl, not the floor. Elysia was dismissed, and they watched as the wood walked through the door. Elysia was not going to score high with him.

Nine was next. The others were getting restless. There were just so many tributes, and most of them showed them the same thing. Over and over again. Repetition was so tedious.

Fret Harmis, the boy from 8 scowled at them. Flamiken was tempted to scowl back. She didn't want to be here anymore then she did. She was already bored with this day. She wanted to go back to designing the games, coming up with tricks, setting the arena. She did not want to be sitting in the stifling hot room while Fret played with a knife. Why was the room so hot? She looked at her fellow Gamemakers, they were sweating too.

Pay attention, she chastised herself, but she wasn't listening. She wasn't even aware that Fret had left the room, not until the girl came in, what was her name again? Flamiken looked down at the list, oh yes, Sares.

Yet another runner? Seriously? All of the girls except one had been a runner. Flamiken almost upped Natina's score just because she wasn't a runner.

Sares was quick, agile, curvy. Volouth was having a ball with this one. Sares batted her eyelashes, bit her lower lip, tilted her head. She was egging him on. That girl had better be careful, he would jump over that table and tie her down if she kept flirting like that.

Wendetta noticed the way that Volouth was slobbering as well, she cut him a glare and he sagged back in his chair. Sares went back to showing off her skills that did not include body language.

Ten was next. Were they really already on ten? Flamiken couldn't wait for it to be over. The boy was Ethen, the girl was Corinne. Poor kids were both terrified with no skills to match with their names. But surprise, surprise, Corinne was surprisingly fast for a little kid.

After ten came eleven. The boy, Richard, seemed just as uninteresting as the previous two, what were there names? Elvis? Easter? Corinthia? Coraline? Flamiken had already forgotten. All she remembered was a blur darting around the room.

Richard showed them that he knew the difference between good berries and bad berries. He showed them that he could climb and jump from surface to surface. Food arrived for the Gamemakers.

Oh how that lamb looked tasty. It was medium rare, just the way that she liked it, there were juices oozing out of it, the rack lay on a bed of squash. Oh yum. Her mouth was watering. She needed food. The current tribute in the room was forgotten about as she grabbed for a plate of that delicious looking substance.

The only thing that Flamiken remembered about the girl from district 11 was that she was also a fast runner. Flamiken penciled Casey's name on the ranking of the runner, somewhere between Autumn and Sadie. She wasn't sure exactly where she had put Casey's name. All of the numbers were running together by now. They really should break it up into two days. She would have to broach the subject with the others.

Seriously, how was she expected to concentrate for that long?

The boy from 12 was Mark, and he went to the bow and arrow first, he shot an arrow, it barely missed the target. Flamiken was the only one who saw his error. He didn't blush or cry or anything. Flamiken was a tad disappointed. She always hated it when the tributes cried, but there was at least one crier per year. Not the case this year. Unless the last tribute pulled through with the waterworks.

Mark picked up the boulder that was still lying in the middle of the room from when Stelz threw it. Mark wasn't as strong as the boy from District one, but Flamiken wasn't too surprised when Mark managed to pick it up and land it a few feet away. He was one of those boys with a hidden talent, and in his case it was his strength.

Flamiken wasn't sure, because his long hair covered his eyes, but it was almost as if he was judging her. She had the strongest urge to offer him some of her lamb. It looked as if he hadn't eaten in years. But all the district 12 children looked like that.

They say that the best is saved for last. That was definitely the case with Belle Petals, the girl tribute from District 12. If Volouth couldn't keep his eyes off of Lenea and Sares, then he sure as hell wasn't going to wander away from Belle Petals.

She was, hands down, the prettiest of all the girls. She had flawless, porcelain white skin with silvery blond hair that flowed down to her waist in loose curls. She had refused to let the stylists cut her hair. Flamiken had heard all about it from her prep team. Belle had a heart shaped face with full pink lips and a small button nose. Her brilliant emerald green eyes were huge and child-like.

Once again, Volouth was able to feast his eyes on a runner. And boy could she move. Flamiken added her name to the top of the list for the rankings. She made a note to come up with a trick that could outrun Belle, because Belle was the fastest of all twelve girls. Which was saying something, because eleven out of the twelve girls had all been marvelous runners.

Flamiken wanted to get a race with just those girls, she wanted to see if she had gotten it right. If she had the rankings correct. She fixed her list, rearranged the girls, and her mind planned a trick to get the girls to run.

Belle was dismissed and they went back to deliberating the scores for the last twelve tributes.


	10. Keeping Score

I really enjoyed writing this chapter, so I hope that you enjoy reading it. I think it's my favorite so far. Tilly is just so random and out there.

And yes, the answer to the last question was "just stop imagining," I really can't fool any of you, especially Everbloom M. Just you wait Everbloom, one of these times, I will stump you!

* * *

Tilly Vaneguard watched the screen intently as she waited for the program to start up. Today was the day where the scores would be aired. Tilly watched the Hunger Games religiously every year. This year she wanted to sponsor the child who won.

Tilly wanted to be famous, she wanted her name lit up in lights. She wanted a child forever grateful to her for sponsoring the said child in the games and helping said child to win.

The face of the boy from one flashed on the screen, he scored a 10. Tilly didn't really want to sponsor a career, almost everyone sponsored careers, she didn't want to be part of the everyone. No, she wanted to cheer for the underdog. She wanted to shock everyone when her sponsored tribute won and theirs didn't.

The girl from one was next, she also scored a 10. Tilly thought that Lenea was beautiful, that hair of hers would definitely earn her some sponsors.

District 2 was next, Tilly cracked her neck, smiling at the sound that it made as Dragan's face floated into view. Ewww, she definitely wasn't sponsoring him, he was too scary looking. She wanted to sponsor someone that she could at least look at without wanting to run away in horror. She hoped that he wouldn't win the games. Scary looking children and ugly looking children were never received well.

The girl seemed worthwhile though. Sadie seemed like she would put up a fight, and there was something in her eyes that Tilly liked. Tilly always judged others by their eyes. Sadie managed to pull an eight.

Tilly wanted to sponsor someone who got between a 5 and a 7. Tributes who received above a 7 were most always careers, and those who scored below a 5 almost always died during the blood bath.

The boy from District 3 was also scary, he scored a 5. Couldn't the stylist's at least try to downplay the awful scar that marred his face. Tilly had to turn away in disgust.

One year, her best friend in the whole wide world, had sponsored a little girl from District 3, she also had a huge slice in her left cheek. Manda had said that the scar was a good indicator that the girl was tough. The girl had died the second day.

The girl from District 3 scored a 6. She was a very pretty girl and had an equally beautiful name. Skylar, the name rolled off of Tilly's tongue. She liked the feel of the name. She would definitely consider Skylar.

The last career District was next. They both scored eights.

The two smart Districts were next. Where brains ruled. The tributes from 5 and 6 were usually smart and calculating, but they were not ruthless killers.

The boy wasn't going to be worth Tilly's time nor money, not with his 3. But the girl was worth watching. Nan Weatherall managed to scrape a 6. Tilly added her name under Skylar's name.

Her heart just about broke when the District 6 siblings appeared. The boy, Colten, was definitely the stronger of the two siblings, even though he was younger. He pulled a five and his name was added to Tilly's list. Tilly almost added Nat's name, but then decided against it. Nat only scored a four. She wasn't going to make it with that low of a number. So maybe she should chose the boy, sponsor him, help him live. Then when he survived the arena and came back he would be forever in Tilly's debt.

Tilly spun an elegant tale in her mind.

"Thanks so much for sponsoring me, your gifts helped me live," Colt would say to her. Tilly would bat her eyelashes and tell him that it was her pleasure to help him. Then she would comfort him because of his dead sister.

Hmmm.

"Tillagarde Maelynn Vaneguard, get your head out of the clouds and watch the show," her mother simpered from the lavish couch.

"Oh but mama, I was just thinking," Tilly began, but was cut off rudely by her mother.

"Yes Tillagarde, I know, you were dreaming," Mrs. Vaneguard sighed, her daughter was too dreamy for her taste. Then again, Tilly had grown up in the capital, she was too spoiled, dotted on constantly by her father. Given all the money in the world. She would have to have a word with Mr. Vaneguard about the way they were raising their only daughter.

"But mama, I wanna sponsor a tribute, daddy said that I could sponsor this year, I think I wanna sponsor the boy from 6."

Mrs. Vaneguard turned up her nose, "that is nonsense Tillagarde, you are not going to waste your father's hard earned money on a child who will die the first day. Just look at his score, only a 5, he has no chance. And darling, please work on your grammar before you speak again, I swear, we are spending precious money to have you properly educated and you are using words like 'wanna,' where did we go wrong with you?"

Mrs. Vaneguard looked up to the ceiling as if it would answer her question. The skies did not deliver.

"I suppose you were spending all of your time making sure Zertuscious and Pertuvous married nice young capital girls," Tilly mused. Mrs. Vaneguard had succeeded in that venture. Both of their wives had very important jobs, they were career woman. Tilly just wanted a niece or nephew to play with, but both of her sister-in-laws insisted on advancing to the top of the corporate ladder before producing offspring.

District seven finally came on after a short break where Caesar Flickerman was trying to up sell his current shade of lipstick, a ghastly green brown color.

The boy, Hunter, was given one of the lowest scores so far. Tilly wondered why, because he looked quite capable of being able to handle himself in the arena. Maybe he had threatened the Gamemakers so to get revenge they gave him a lower score then he deserved. Or maybe he had frozen up, but he didn't look like the type to freeze up under pressure. So many fantasies that she could come up with, but none of them were probably the real reason why he had only gotten a 3.

The girl from seven, Autumn, snagged a seven, the highest score so far from a non career. She was the only one who had the same number as her district. Tilly thought that was cool. It would be cool if one from 12 got a 12, or one from 11 got an 11. Or one from 10 got a 10. Tilly could go on and on, but a career from 1 would never get a 1.

Autumn would be worth watching. There was something about her, something about her eyes. There was a fight in them, but Tilly could also see anger and pain. Tilly wondered about Autumn's past and hoped that it would come up during the interviews. Autumn intrigued Tilly.

Actually, all the tributes sparked Tilly's interest. Sometimes she even imagined what it would be like to be a tribute. Of course, one time she had said that thought out loud and her mother had heard her. Tilly wasn't allowed to get the altercations that she wanted. Oh how they had argued that night.

But there was just something fascinating about going into an arena where one knew not a single soul. Tilly would sometimes imagine that she was one of the tributes, last year Glenda Mervak from District 5 had piqued her interest the most. Tilly would go around acting out scenes as if she were Glenda. She would quote Glenda much to the displeasure of her numerous friends.

When they had to write journal entries in grammar class, Tilly would write about her adventures in the arena and her latest kill. She had gotten kicked out of several classes because of that, and had had to sit through countless lectures from teachers, principals and parents. But Tilly couldn't help that she had an over active imagination.

The specialists were now saying that over active imaginations were now a disease. Tilly didn't believe it for a second. But her mother bought into the propaganda. Mrs. Vaneguard had taken Tilly to more doctors then Tilly could count with both hands. She had been placed on seven different medications and had been grounded for no less than twenty four times. But nothing would stop her imagination.

Tilly left the fun corners of her mind as the scores for District 8 were aired. The poor frightened boy only managed a two. He wouldn't get a single sponsor, but it wouldn't matter. Corbin Pierce would be long gone by the time sponsors started to send in gifts. Someone had to die first, and Corbin would be among the dead bodies littered on the ground by the cornucopia.

The girl from 8, Elysia Holland also had little chance of surviving. Tilly didn't remember her getting reaped, the girl just had a very forgettable face. Maybe if she hid she would have a chance. But not everyone could hide.

Once Tilly played a huge game of hide and go seek. It was for everyone at school, more than one hundred kids participated, and they had over 3 acres where they could hide. There were 3 original seekers, and all the rest hid. Everyone was found within seven hours. Hiding was pointless when one was being sought.

A boy with a very mischievous face appeared. Fret Harmis from 9. Subtract three from his District number and one ended up with his score. His number was in the range that she was willing to sponsor, but she didn't want to sponsor him. There was something about that twinkle in his eye, something evil, something sinister. His eyes told a story about betrayal and tragedy. His face couldn't disappear fast enough.

A girl with a friendly face appeared next. Sares Tuck with a score of seven. She looked like a fun girl. Tilly had actually never conversed with someone who wasn't from the Capital, but Sares seemed like a fun girl to get to know.

Tilly almost cried when she saw the scores for District 10, both the boy and the girl were given 2's. That made three tributes with 2's.

The boy from 11, his name was Richard, what a weird name, Tilly mused. She had never heard that name before. Some of the other tributes had annoyingly common names, but this boy, it was unusual.

Then came Casey, with a pretty good score of 7. Not many tributes past District 8 got above a 6. So far there were two, Sares and Casey.

Casey was glowing, as if she couldn't be happier. Her eyes sparkled, the corners of her mouth were tilted upwards, it was as if she held a secret that she wanted to shout from the rooftops but couldn't. Tilly wanted in on the secret. Maybe if Tilly sponsored Casey then she would tell her the secret after winning. Because whichever tribute Tilly was going to sponsor was definitely going to win.

"Maybe I'll just write down all the names that I like, then pick one from a bowl, I can hold my own reapings," Tilly spoke her idea out loud. She thought it was a pretty good one. Her mother on the other hand, did not.

"I think I'll take you to Dr. Browning tomorrow," Mrs. Vaneguard said as she flipped through a magazine, "maybe he'll be able to fix the, uh, 'creative' side of your brain."

"Aw darling, leave Til alone, she's just having fun," Mr. Vaneguard said as he lopped into the room and ruffled Tilly's spiky pink hair.

"Daddy, I can still sponsor a tribute, right, you promised."

"I know I did, which one would you like to sponsor baby girl?" Mr. Vaneguard smiled at his daughter while his wife glared at him. It was a good thing she had never gotten those green lasers installed in her irises like she wanted too. He would be pudding right now.

"Wait, wait, they still need to show District 12," Tilly shushed her dad as the boy's face appeared on screen.

"What do you think he'll get?" He asked his daughter. Tilly contemplated the question. She looked at his cool eyes, his emotionless face, the set line of his lips.

"I think he'll get a six," she replied as that same number popped up. Mrs. Vaneguard sighed, her daughter put too much value into the games.

"Wow, you're a good guesser," Mr. Vaneguard praised his daughter.

Tilly smiled, "how else do you think I'm passing my classes?"

Mrs. Vaneguard almost swooned, "oh please tell me that you don't guess. Please tell me that you do your work and you try your best."

"But you told me to never lie," Tilly said sweetly to her mother then turned to her father, "she's going to get a seven."

Sure enough, the prettiest girl to be shown received a seven. Tilly received another grounding, and was sent to her room.

"And you will do your homework," Mrs. Vaneguard called out behind Tilly's retreating back.

Tilly lay down on her sofa and contemplated the tributes. Oh how she wished she could be one of them. Going into an arena, fighting, having fun, getting air time, becoming famous. Oh those kids in the Districts had all the luck.

* * *

And interviews are next! Those are going to be fun to write too! I can't wait. I hope you all enjoyed Tilly as much as I did.

Question 9: What does Madge wear to the 74th reaping?


	11. Interviews Part 1

**Interviews Part 1**

**District 1 Interviews**

Lenea Reynolds sat down on the couch and looked over at Caesar. She gave him a sultry smile. She was going to take the sexy blonde route. Stelz knew that she didn't even have to pretend. Lenea had always been sexy. Even as a gangly twelve year old, Lenea had it going on. While all the other girls were making the transition from child to adult, but Lenea was already there.

She had been named the hottest girl in his year for the past five years. It was a secret list that the teachers didn't know about, but all the students did. Even Lenea had voted, for herself of course, she knew that she was number two. Lacey Davidson, the second hottest girl in their year was forty votes behind, Lenea had no need to be jealous of Lacey. But she was bothered by Belle Petals.

Lenea wasn't stupid, she saw the way that the others looked at Belle, she knew that they thought the District 12 girl was hot and sexy. Lenea thought Belle was pretty as well, but she would never admit it. She wouldn't admit to herself that Belle could be prettier, not unless the magic mirror said so.

"So Lenea," Caesar started, "how was your kiss with Stelz, you seemed to enjoy it."

"Well Caesar, it was good," she batted her eyelashes, "for an amateur, my little brother kisses better than that."

The crowd burst out in laughter, Lenea met Stelz's eyes and blew him a kiss.

"You're engaged, correct?" Caesar asked, Lenea nodded. "Can I see the ring?"

Lenea held out her left hand. A very large diamond glistened in the spot light.

"Wow, that's huge."

"So is he!" Lenea winked and the crowd went wild. There was no doubt about it, Lenea was a hit, everyone liked her.

"You're madly in love, yet you volunteered, why?

"Ritch won last year, I couldn't let him have all the glory," her eyes skimmed the crowd, as if searching for Ritch, but he was back in their District, watching her interview on screen.

"So you plan on winning?"

"Doesn't everyone? But yes, I plan on winning," she sounded so sure of herself, that for a moment, Stelz almost believed that she would win. The moment passed.

"Well good luck to you," Caesar kissed her on her check and Lenea danced off the stage.

The disadvantage of going first was that there were still twenty three more to go after Lenea. Even though she had given a stellar performance, twenty three more had the chance to outshine her. It was Stelz's turn.

"Ah, Stelz, you also volunteered, care to tell us why?"

"Well it's simple really, someone had to protect Lenea and I wanted it to be me."

"So you love her," Caesar stated as he looked over to where Lenea was now sitting. She gave them a dazzling smile, but Stelz knew that she was secretly glaring at him. She was going to have at him later that night.

"All my life," Stelz replied honestly. The crowd awed. "She's a sweet person, not just there for looks, she has brains too."

"But she picked Ritch," Caesar gently pointed out, not wanting to break Stelz's bubble.

"So she's not THAT smart," Stelz said smugly, the crowd chuckled. Stelz looked at Lenea again. She was openly glaring at him this time. She mouthed something to him. Stelz couldn't read lips, but he knew exactly what she had said.

"No, she made a good choice. Ritch is my best friend, he means well, and he loves her a lot," Stelz, "Ritch, I'm sorry for kissing your girl, I don't have to tell you this, but she's amazing." Stelz winked. Back in District 1, Ritch was seething.

"Well then, there you have it, Stelz from District one everyone!" Caesar announced and the crowd clapped as Stelz headed off stage.

**District 3 Interviews**

Skylar had prepared herself well for this moment. She knew that she needed to get it right. At the moment, the girl from two, Sadie, was giving her interview. Skylar listened closely, she wanted to know everything she could about her opponents.

"How do you like having your own sister as a mentor?" Caesar asked. Skylar could practically see the wheels turning in Sadie's head as she tried to come up with a correct answer for the angle she was playing.

"Well, she expects more from me. Jael's doing her best, and I appreciate her help. I don't want to disappoint her." Sadie smiled over at her sister. Jael gave her a thumbs up in response.

"Were you proud of her for winning her games?"

"Absolutely," Sadie responded sincerely, "I've always looked up to her for that. She volunteered, I never would have had the guts to do that."

"How you two always gotten along so well?" Caesar asked as his gaze bounced between the two sisters. They were so alike, yet so different.

Sadie laughed, her black curls bobbed up and down. "When I was an infant, she picked me up and threw me down the hall, mom wasn't thrilled at all. Then when I was three she tried to drown me in our bathtub at home. When I was seven she locked me in the attic, it was during that really hot bout of summer we had, I almost cooked to death, so yes, you could say we got along swell."

Caesar looked shocked, and the audience laughed at his facial expressions, "why wouldn't anyone want to hurt you? She must have been very jealous of you."

"Yup, she was jealous of my good looks and charm," Sadie smiled broadly, Skylar could see her sparkling white teeth.

"Of course, but you are the spitting image of Jael, I swear, I thought I had been transported back seven years when I first saw you."

Sadie made a face. Skylar thought that it was very attractive. "Jael wishes she looked like me."

"Do not," Jael shouted from the stands.

The crowd was having a hoot over the sisters bickering. But the buzzer went off signaling the end of Sadie's three minutes. One more tribute to go and then it would be Skylar's turn.

Dragan Halbred was up. He still scared the bejesus out of Skylar. Her plan was to stay far away from him.

His angle was a ruthless killer. Skylar thought that he needed anger management classes. He didn't say much to Caesar's questions, and when he did, his voice was so low, his answers so violent. Skylar had a hard time listening to him without wincing in pain.

His three minutes seemed to drag on, but finally, finally he left the stage and she was allowed on. She sat herself down on the opposite end from where Dragan had sat. She wanted to associate with him as little as possible.

"Skylar Reef, the female from three!" Caesar announced. Skylar blinked at him, she didn't know what else to say.

"How do you like the capital so far?" He asked her, and Skylar let out a breath of relief. She could answer that. Maybe this wouldn't be as hard as her mentor said it would be. Dixie was still going with the cool and aloof angle.

"I feel like I'm home, I recognize a lot of these gizmos and gadgets from the technology labs at home."

"I am definitely a fan of the lipstick where you turn the knob at the bottom and the color changes." Caesar smiled, his pukish green lipstick shined brightly. The audience began to shout out the inventions that they liked. Skylar recognized most of the names. Her father worked in one of the labs and would often tell his daughter about them.

"You should probably turn the tube one more time tomorrow morning," Skylar replied coolly, the audience let out a forced chuckle.

"Aw, so you don't like this color?" Caesar feigned a hurt look.

"I think moldy peaches would look better," Skylar tried to say it with a straight face. "It would compliment your hair better.

"Ah, so you're a fashion expert," Caesar ran a hand through his already messed up hair.

Skylar made a face, "my mother wishes I was."

"So what do you like to do in your free time?"

"What free time?" Skylar made another of her very famous faces. The audience let out a wave of laughter. "No, I'm serious, what free time?" Skylar caught Dixie's warning glance. It had two meanings. One, don't mention her strengths, two, tone down on the attitude. Skylar sighed, Dixie was on her side, she wanted to keep Skylar alive as long as possible. Skylar just had to play the pregame before the actual game.

"I like to solve math problems," her sarcasm was met by blank stares. Dixie was trying to not to seethe. Well at least Skylar hadn't given away any of her strengths. Math was not going to help her in the arena. And that sister from six looked much smarter than Skylar would ever be.

Caesar went on to ask questions about her family, about her friends and her social life. She answered all his questions as best as she could, but she prayed to some higher power that her brother would not be mentioned. The higher power was not listening.

"Tell me about your brother," Caesar finally said. Skylar thought that her three minutes had to be up soon. She didn't want to talk about Finn. The look from Dixie told her that she had to.

"He was in the games a few years back," Skylar forced the tears back. She missed him, but she was not going to cry for him on live television while she awaited the same fate that he had experienced. "I miss him very much."

The buzzer went off, saving her from having to answer any more questions. Caesar thanked her for her time and Skylar left. She was replaced by Jeremy, but she didn't pay attention to his interview.

**District 4 Interviews**

Anya O'dell brushed her brown hair behind her ear as she walked onto stage. Her mentor had drilled into her head that confidence was key. Anya had no idea where this confidence was supposed to come from.

"Wow Anya, I loooove that dress, who is your stylist!" Caesar complimented her as she sat down on the couch. Anya pointed out her stylist, the woman waved excitedly as her face was caught on camera.

The dress was pretty, it was silver and sparkly, almost like fish scales glimmering in the sea light.

"I hear that your mother isn't well," Caesar murmured condolences, so did the audience.

"She's ill," Anya tried not to let the coolness slip into her tone. She didn't see how it was any of their business. Their apologies weren't going to make her mother better again. If only her father hadn't of drowned, then maybe they would have had the money to get her mother cured. All medicine came with a price though, and Anya just couldn't afford to take her mother to a specialist, not when she had to feed her brothers.

"That must be quite difficult for a pretty young lady such as yourself."

"It is, but I have my brothers to help me, and my mother took care of me for almost fourteen years, I'm just returning the favor."

"Not many daughters would do that for their mother."

"I'm not like most daughters," Anya replied. "She's my mother, and I will do whatever it takes to keep her and my brothers alive."

"So family is very important to you?"

Anya nodded, "my brothers mean the world to me, I will be home in a few weeks to continue where I left off. They are expecting me." She left out the part about Pip's dream, where he foresaw that she wasn't coming back. Her future wasn't set in stone, she was going to change it.

"You sound so sure."

"Confidence is key," Anya said, repeating her mentor's earlier statement. Caesar nodded in agreement.

Confidence is everything.

Anya's time ended and she switched spots with Nemo Kai. His interview was nothing special. Just the normal answers from a normal career.

District 5 Interviews

If anyone solved math problems in their spare time, then it was Nan Weatherall. She had smartness stamped all over her face. The smart ones always had a plan. Everyone knew that.

"Nan, is that short for anything?" Caesar asked her.

"No, is Caesar short for anything?" She tossed the question back at him. He smiled at her. She was a feisty one.

"Absolutely Nan, it's short for Caesar salad," he looked around, as if expecting one to show up. "I like mine with scallops."

"I've never had one," Nan admitted, Caesar's eyes went wide as he tried to process that fact.

"No! Well, we'll just have to change that, won't we?" He looked into the audience, "anyone happen to have a delicious scallop Caesar salad out there?"

No one came forward with the meal. Caesar was disappointed.

"I'll have that as my victory dinner," Nan smiled brightly, "it'll give me something to look forward to."

"That sounds like an awesome plan, we'll have one ready for you."

The rest of the interview seemed as if it were just a conversation between two old friends. Nothing terribly exciting, but not that boring either. Nan was well received, but she wasn't a favorite. But at least she stood out more than her counter partner, Reece Antine, the boy from District 5.

**District 6 Interviews**

"Welcome to the center stage Natina!" Caesar welcomed the oldest Henley sibling.

She regarded him coolly, her eyes lowered, "it's Nat."

Caesar wasn't fazed by her coldness in the least bit. "Why not Tina?"

Nat's eyes glazed over. She had to bite her lower lip to keep from crying. She would not cry, that was for babies. Even Delaney had grown out of that habit years ago.

"I don't like change," she replied softly. Colten felt bad for his sister. He wanted to run over to her and wrap her in a bear hug, just like their parents used to do when they were upset. It seemed like a lifetime ago.

"My parents have always called me Nat, they said that I was their little annoying gnat that they couldn't get rid of no matter how hard they tried."

Caesar would have laughed, but he knew that this wasn't a laughing moment, "what happened to them?"

"They got sick, like a lot of people in District 6." It had been two years ago. A plague had blown through their district, they had lost almost half of their population.

"That must have been awful," Caesar said softly, the audience felt bad for the poor orphaned girl sitting in front of them. They had no idea how awful it really was.

"It was my parents and the twins, they weren't even eight at the time, and their bodies couldn't fight the sickness."

The audience gasped in horror. Nat may have gotten a low score, but she had a sad sob story that made the audience feel bad for her. Too bad she had the same sad story as her brother Colten.

"So you were left to take care of Colten."

Nat let out a forced chuckle, "no one takes care of him, he thinks he's tough enough to take care of himself."

"I am," Colten shouted from the side, the audience laughed, the air turned back to normal, they were able to relax, the sad part of the story was over.

"I take care of my sisters Shyla and Delaney," she turned to the camera and smiled, she knew that they were watching her. "Hi Shy, hi Laney! I miss you!"

"I'm sure they miss you too," Caesar assured her as the buzzer went off and Nat was forced to relinquish the hot seat to her brother Colten.

"You must look up to your sister a lot," Caesar started.

"Naw, but I do look down at her," Colten countered, "after all, I am much taller then she is."

"That's true, she's a shrimp," Caesar replied, the camera found Nat, she was not happy with that description. Neither were the two from District 4.

"So Colten, what do you think about the other contenders?"

"Is this a trick question?" Colten asked suspiciously.

"No, why would you think that?"

"You're trying to get me to openly admit that I like one of them."

Caesar was taken aback, "really? Oh, which one?"

Colten's face turned to stone, he shrugged.

"Ah Colten, don't leave us in the dark," he turned to the crowd for support. They were shouting, they wanted to know.

Colten leaned closer to Caesar, he said in a loud whisper, "well I'll tell you, but you have to promise not to tell anyone else."

Caesar crossed his heart with his finger, "not a soul," he mock whispered back.

"I think Nat Henley is going to kill you for the shrimp comment."

Caesar was a good sport, he turned back to Nat, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it."

"Apology accepted," Nat smiled at him. Caesar turned back to her brother. "Now that was what you thought about one contender, there are still twenty two more out there."

"So there are."

The audience was having the time of their lives. They were enjoying the back and forth between Caesar and they were having a blast with the way that Colten was toying with them. But if he kept toying with them, then they were going to lose interest. Colten had to make it worth their while. He had to give them something that they wanted.

In Colten's case, it wasn't a what, but a who. And her name was Casey Ellison.

"Well if I can trust you to keep it a secret," Colten started.

"You can, I promise you."

"There is someone that I like."

The people in the crowd were on the edges of their seats, so to speak. They were ready for the gossip, they lived on gossip. They needed to know. Colten could no longer keep it a secret. It was time to tell the world what he thought about a certain girl with deep brown eyes. His own green eyes searched for hers and they connected, she gave a single nod.

"I'm in love with Casey Ellison."


	12. Interviews Part 2

**District 7 Interviews**

Autumn Faith was close enough to hear Nat's cursing. Autumn had never heard a girl with such a potty mouth before, she had thought that Leo was bad, but not when she heard the things coming out of Nat's mouth. Nat was not happy. Autumn was glad the anger was not directed at her. There were certain people that one should never piss off, Autumn could see that Nat was one of those people.

Autumn was called to the stage. She was now facing a very difficult dilemma. Go up there to get away from Nat's anger, or stay with Nat's anger to get away from talking to Caesar and pretending that what the Capital did was okay. Her mentor made the decision by forcing her up there.

"Hello Autumn," Caesar said cheerfully. She did not respond to him. Her mentor had told her to play nice. Autumn hadn't 'played' nice since her younger sister Myrrah ate her favorite toy five years ago.

"Not much of a talker now, are you?" Caesar asked gently, not walking to spook her. She fixed him a glare. "The strong, silent type?"

"I talk when it's worth my time," Autumn replied, she could practically hear her siblings yelling in her ear, telling her to just play the game so she could come home. She sighed in resignation. She had to do it for them.

"Tell me about your sister, Myrrah, right?" Caesar said kindly, "her name was pulled during the reaping, but you volunteered for her."

Autumn wanted so badly to speak ill against the Capital, but she knew that she couldn't, it wouldn't bode well for her family. Not that there was much left of it. But she needed to be certain that Leo and Myrrah were safe. She was not going to put them in danger, she would rather die than be the cause of their death.

"I couldn't let her have all the fun," Autumn replied instead of saying what she really wanted to say. I hope you're happy now, she thought, she wasn't sure who exactly she was directing that thought at.

"No, of course not, you're the oldest sister, you deserve first shot," he agreed with her. The golden rule in Autumn's family was to never lie. But sometimes lies were necessary, and this was one of those times. Damn you Capital, Autumn thought.

"Exactly, that's what I told her, I told her that there was always next year," that was a lie, because Autumn didn't want Myrrah to die, she would not allow it under her watch. Autumn hoped that Myrrah wouldn't be chosen again next year, because Autumn wouldn't be able to take her place. She did not want to be a Jael and a Sadie either.

They talked more about her sister, and then her brother. Autumn told Caesar about her jump off the waterfall.

"So you like danger," he asked with a twinkle in his eye.

She nodded, "that's my middle name." The crowd laughed. The buzzer dinged. Autumn was off the hook. Hunter was up.

All he did was tell his awful jokes. Caesar played along and even told a few of his own. Autumn had to tune them out. She wasn't in the mood for jokes. Not for Hunter's anyway. But the audience seemed to be having a ball.

**District 9 Interviews**

The lights were twinkling, the crowd was laughing and clapping. The hose was a good sport, making every single one of his guest speakers a big hit.

Sares felt like she was at a movie premier, about to make her grand debut. It was the moment she had been waiting for for her entire life. Too bad it wasn't real.

It was her turn. The District 8 interviews were over with, Elysian and Corbin hadn't made that much of an impression on her. She was horrible at paying attention to boring people.

Sares flashed the camera a huge smile as she joined Caesar. She was made to be in front of the camera. All eyes were on her, just how she liked it. She was going to give them an interview to remember.

"It's a beautiful night!" Sares exclaimed, Caesar looked around and nodded in agreement.

"It sure is Sares, it is like this pretty much every night. We have wonderful weather here."

The weather the day of her reaping had been horrible. Rain was pouring down, there were puddles everywhere, the thunder was roaring in the background, the sky was lighting up every few minutes.

Sares would often fall asleep counting the pitter patter of the rain and listening to the thunder roll. Those nights were always her favorite. She loved the beautiful weather at the Capital, but she missed the summer storms back home.

"I bet it doesn't snow here," Sares said whimsically. If she died in the games then she would never see the fluffy white powder ever again. 'Don't think that way,' she told herself sternly, 'only happy thoughts are allowed in my brain today.'

"Nope, never," Caesar said, "I've heard it's awful stuff."

"What!" Sares eyes went wide, "no, I love the snow, sure, it can be cold and wet, but when it's snowing, it's like magic. Everything is pure white and fluffy, the trees glisten, it's like a different world when there's snow."

"Well you can keep your snow," Caesar assured her.

"Deal," Sares smiled, and the audience clapped, they liked that deal as well. She wished that she had something to throw at them, like a wet, cold snowball, with a stone inside. It would show the Capital people.

"So you like snow, what else do you like?"

"Boys," Sares answered, staring over at the boys in the crowd, a few waved to her, one even blew a kiss, and another gave her a cat whistle.

"Is there a special boy out there?" Caesar winked at her. She wondered if his left eye ever got tired of the motion, or if the right eye ever got jealous.

"Not yet, but I'm looking," she cupped her right hand above her eyes and pretended to peer out into the crowd, "nope, I don't see anyone special. The crowd sighed in disappointment. Her time was up and she left so Fret could steal the show.

"Ah, Fret Harmis, the boy from 9. Caesar smiled at Fret, but Fret didn't return it. Fret wasn't easy to get along with. Sares had found that out the hard way when she tried to befriend him. She had even tried flirting with him, but he didn't respond to her like the other boys did. He wasn't worth her time. She played with her hair and threw kisses at the cute boys in the crowd. They might be Capital kids, but they were still cute.

Fret's interview didn't last long, Fret actually walked away within thirty seconds. He didn't care enough. Sares tried to listen to the chatter of the female from ten, but Corinne was so dull, and her voice was so squeaky. The boy wasn't much better.

**District 11 Interviews**

Casey was still shell-shocked over Colten's earlier announcement during his interview. "I'm in love with Casey Ellison," he had said. What was the big idea? Why did he say that? And on live television too. Was he crazy? He had to be. That was the only explanation. After all, for some horrible reason, she attracted the crazies. It was like there was a sign on her forehead, 'if you're crazy, come to me.'

First there was Trud Orangeby, who swore he had x-ray vision. She had let him hold her hand, but they never got farther than that. He was now in the padded room of the justice building back home.

Then she went steady with Pickles. She would never date anyone with a food name ever again. He had ruined cucumbers for her. And she used to love those things, never again.

And now there was Colten, who had declared his love for her on live television.

It was every little girl's dream come true, and it was happening to her. It had to be a trick. It just had to be. Because why else would a wonderful boy like Colten fall in love with her, a relatively normal girl from District 11. Especially when they were heading to their death tomorrow.

Her name was called, jolting her from the safety of her mind. Casey walked to the stage on wobbly legs. Caesar looked like he was ready to burst. He had been waiting for her. Was there any chance that she would be struck dead? Disappear into the floor? No such luck, the world hate her, it was the only explanation.

"Casey, Casey, Casey," sang Caesar joyfully. The moment he had been waiting for was finally upon him.

"Caesar, Caesar, Caesar!" Casey sang back in her horribly off-tune voice. She wouldn't have been surprised if a mirror had broken. She listened for the howl of the dogs in the distance. Nothing.

"That was quite a final statement from Colten," Caesar wasted no time in cutting directly to the chase. All Casey could think about was how all of their names started with a C. Casey, Colten, Caesar. Then there was Corinne, Corbin and Sadie's last name began with a C, but she couldn't remember what it was exactly.

She heard her name being called, she looked up to see Caesar starring at her.

"Um, what was the question?"

"Did you know Colten was sweet on you?"

Casey gulped, she searched around, looking for him. Her eyes met his and her heart jumped. She relaxed instantly.

"No Caesar, I didn't," she replied honestly, "but I know that now, and the truth is, I think I'm sweet on him too." She was speaking to Caesar but she was looking at Colten. Her heart soared. So this was what it felt like.

Too bad she had to have her name reaped to find the one she was meant to be with. Casey Ellison had never believe in soul mates, but looking at Colten Henley had changed her mind. Yup, the world hated her.

**District 12 Interviews**

Belle watched Richard give his interview. It was almost heart wrenching to see it unfold. He had no confidence, he had accepted his fate, and it showed in his answers. He would get not sponsors, he had no chance. He might, if he fought to stay alive, but she didn't see a fire of determination in his eyes. Hewas too depressed to fight. Depression was a disease.

His allotted time ended. It was her turn. She was going to fight.

"Beautiful Belle from 12," Caesar introduced her, she studied him with her green eyes. "Have you heard the story Belle?"

"What story?" She asked, he had her full attention. Belle liked stories, they reminded her of a time long ago when her happy little family was still intact.

"It's an old story, it was told to children before Panem came about."

The audience gasped, it was practically forbidden to talk about times before the great destruction of their ancestors.

But Caesar was a celebrity who could get away with anything.

"No, what story?" She asked again.

"It's called beauty and the beast," he replied and he launched into the tale. Belle was enchanted by the words that came out of his mouth, she could almost imagine the story being about her.

The story was over too soon, the audience wanted more, but there was no more, at least, not of that story.

"Do you think you can tame the beast?" Caesar asked Belle, and she answered just as the buzzer went off.

"Yes."

Mark was last. The crowd had already seen the interviews of twenty three others. They were getting restless. He had to give them a show to remember. He needed sponsors, and they were out there somewhere, watching his every move. He had to win them over.

"Tell me about your token," Caesar started the interview with the hardest question that Mark would ever have to answer. Because it was still painful for him to talk about.

Mark held up his left wrist where a red and black band was secured tightly.

"It was given to me by my best friend Zach," Mark said softly, Caesar did not interrupt with pointless questions. Mark needed to talk on his own pace. "He gave it to last year, right before he was reaped."

Zach had been his best friend, the only one who truly knew how good of a person Mark was. Zach was the only one who knew Mark's deepest fears. And now Zach was dead, another good soul lost to the horrible games.

Mark wanted to change the subject, he had already given so much to the Capital, he wouldn't give them Zach, not again. Luckily, Caesar caught on to that wish and changed tactics. Mark was grateful for that. Caesar did try his hardest to help out each tribute.

Mark answered all of the questions openly and honestly, and the audience appreciated that fact. Mark was well liked, he just hoped that it was enough to get sponsors.

All twenty four tributes were done with their interviews. They had survived the reapings, taken on the training center, showed what they could do in the private sessions. They had put up with other tributes, let the stylists change their appearance. They had listened to their escorts, fought with their mentors and tried their best to win sponsors. Now they had to go into an arena and fight to survive. Only one could live. Each one wanted it to be him or herself.


	13. 60 Seconds

**The Games: 60 Seconds**

Lenea stood on her plate and breathed in the air. It was freezing, she shivered, the fleece jacket that she wore was not keeping her warm enough

Sixty Seconds.

She was stationed between two boys, one was from twelve, the other was from eight or ten or something, she couldn't remember.

Fifty nine seconds.

Stelz was too far away from Lenea, she was at least eight tributes to his left. But he had never been good at counting, so he couldn't be sure.

Fifty eight seconds.

He had two weak girls to either side of him. He grinned, this was going to be fun.

Fifty seven seconds.

Sadie wished that she was at home, not here, not surrounded by twenty three other tributes. The whole week she was at the Capital, she kept wishing that it was a dream, that she would wake up at home in her own bed. But her imagination had never been that avid before.

Fifty six seconds.

She caught eyes with the Careers in her alliance. The deal was to pick off as many of the others as she could.

Fifty five seconds.

Dragan was standing between the sister from six and one of the weakling girls. He smiled evily. Perfect pickings. They would be the first to die.

Fifty four seconds.

He checked out the cornucopia. Everything was stacked together, wrapped like presents. On the very top was a lit star ornament. Just like a Christmas tree.

Fifty three seconds.

Skylar was between two boys. She glanced around, it was a pattern. Boy, girl, boy, girl. Everyone was standing on the opposite half of their district partner, but not directly across.

Fifty two seconds.

She looked around for her ally. Belle was only two tributes away. Perfect.

Fifty one seconds.

Jermey was between two exquisite females. He felt even uglier than ever.

Fifty seconds.

He cursed his stepfather for the scar and his mother for not sticking up for her son. He hoped to see neither of them ever again.

Forty nine seconds.

Anya looked up, but instead of a bright blue sky, all she could see were dark ominous looking clouds.

Forty eight seconds.

She mouthed three small words. She knew that her brothers were watching the show, paying close attention to their older sister.

Forty seven seconds.

Nemo had missed the sea while he was at the Capital. He had hoped for an arena with an ocean or a lake, or even a river. There was nothing. Not a single source of water to be seen.

Forty six seconds.

He was surrounded by big hills with sharp peaks. Mountains. He had never seen a real one before. Only photographs of them at school. He hadn't liked them then, and he didn't like them now.

Forty five seconds.

Nan calculated her odds of living. They had been higher before she saw the arena.

Forty four seconds.

There was nowhere for her to hide. Her only option was to climb. In the cornucopia, climbing equipment was wrapped with pretty red bows.

Forty three seconds.

Reece wasn't sure if he wanted to fight. He didn't want to run, or climb, or hide. The female career to his right scared him.

Forty two seconds.

He hoped his death would be quick and painless. The forgotten tribute that no one remembered.

Forty one seconds.

Nat searched around widely for her brother. He was standing directly across from her. She was next to Dragan. She gulped, she was so dead.

Forty seconds.

Her plan had been to grab Colt and run. There was nowhere to go.

Thirty nine seconds.

Colten's first thought was about Casey. Was she safe? Who was she next to? His next concern was for his sister. His own well being was last on his mind.

Thirty eight seconds.

Both of the females in his life were next to careers. Casey was closest to him, but still, she was seven people away. Nat had better run faster than she ever had before, because he wouldn't be able to get to her in time.

Thirty seven seconds.

Autumn was ready to go. She was ready to have some fun. She met the eyes of several tributes. Some were scared, some were excited. The career next to her was rearing to go, she wasn't sure what was going through the head of the boy on her left, the one from twelve.

Thirty six seconds.

She knew that she was fast, maybe she could sprint to the offering of presents, grab one and then run off. It would be one hell of a adrenaline rush, that was for sure.

Thirty five seconds.

Hunter's jokes weren't going to save him now. He doubted that the career next to him would stop to listen to a knock-knock joke. And the other career, the mean one, was two plates away.

Thirty four seconds.

He studied the arena. The mountain peaks had caves, one per peak. At least fifty peaks. They surrounded them in a circle. The sky was dark and gray, it looked ready to explode, he couldn't see anything above the clouds.

Thirty three seconds.

Elysia had a bad feeling about this arena. It was too small, too closed in. They were trapped, trapped like rats. They would all be dead within hours.

Thirty two seconds.

But then something caught her eye, an irregularity in the base of one of the mountains. Her mom had often said that she was sometimes too observant. It had gotten her in trouble more than once at school. This time, it would come in handy.

Thirty one seconds.

Corbin was next to the sister, and next to a career. His district partner nine tributes from his right, she was also next to a career.

Thirty seconds.

He met her eyes, she was trying to tell him something. But they were too far away for him to read her lips.

Twenty nine seconds.

Sares felt at home. Well, except for the twenty three kids intent on her death. But that was besides the point.

Twenty eight seconds.

She felt at home because of the coldness on her cheeks. She smiled softly. She thought that she would die having never seen snow again. But it was truly snowing. The boy from District three was to her left, she could tell that he had never seen snow before. It was too her advantage.

Twenty seven seconds.

Fret checked out the presents laid out in front of him. Most of them were wrapped so the inside contents weren't known. He wanted a knife, there had to be one in there somewhere.

Twenty six seconds.

He needed a knife to end the life of the district two girl next to him. The careers needed to be the first to go. They posed the greatest threat to him. Tadia's face filled his mind. He tried to wipe her away, he wouldn't be able to kill anyone with her still on his conscience.

Twenty five seconds.

Corinne tried to clear her mind of all the negative things in her life. Like the fact that she was next to Dragan, and the fact that she was going to die in less than thirty seconds.

Twenty four seconds.

She really hoped that reincarnation existed. 'Please let me come back as a turtle,' she whispered to whoever was listening. She was only twelve, she still had a whole life ahead of her that she wouldn't be able to live.

Twenty three seconds.

Ethen tried to keep his head in the games like his father had told him too. But he couldn't concentrate. There were too many mean faces looking at him. And it didn't help that he was standing next to the girl from two.

Twenty two seconds.

He shivered. He wasn't sure if it was from fear or cold, probably both. It was snowing harder now, the flakes were coming down fast and hard. Good thing he knew how to run in the snow.

Twenty one seconds.

Casey searched around for Colt, she found him to the right of her, standing between Nan and Skylar. At least he wasn't next to a career like she was.

Twenty seconds.

She still wanted to kill a career, but she also wanted to live at least one more day with Colten. She wanted Stelz but he was five tributes away, Nemo was right there, he would satisfy her need for revenge.

Nineteen seconds.

Richard didn't want to be standing on a plate that would explode if he stepped off too soon. He didn't want to be standing in an arena with twenty three dangerous teenagers.

Eighteen seconds.

He caught Casey's eyes, she was trying to reassure him. It wasn't working. The cold was getting to him, he just wanted to curl up in a ball and go to sleep.

Seventeen seconds.

Belle found Skylar straight away, her only friend in the whole wide world.

Sixteen seconds.

She made eye contact with Skylar and they silently made plans. Belle would run to the cornucopia, she was the fastest after all, and she would grab as many supplies as she could. Skylar would protect Belle back and keep them both safe.

Fifteen seconds.

Mark was between Lenea and Autumn, the mountains were behind him, the snow was picking up.

Fourteen seconds.

He had to get his hand on a weapon, that was the only way to defend himself, he had never been good at hand to hand combat.

Thirteen seconds.

The twenty four tributes stood there, calculating their movies, trying to figure out what everyone else was going to do.

Twelve seconds.

Time was going too slowly for them, they just wanted the countdown to end so they could have at it.

Eleven seconds.

Flamiken couldn't wait, it was almost time for the games to start, she was ready.

Ten seconds.

Her fingers were just inches away from the buttons in front of her. She was in control of the arena, of their lives, of the monsters.

Nine seconds.

Tilly was bursting with excitement. She had chosen the tribute she was going to sponsor, her father had given her a wad of cash, and there was more for when she ran out of what he had given her.

Eight seconds.

She was able to name all of the tributes in the circle, she felt bad for the ones standing next to careers.

Seven seconds.

All of Panem was gathered around the screens as the countdown almost ended.

Six seconds.

The parents of the reaped children were holding their breaths, hoping, praying, wishing for the safety of their loved one.

Five seconds.

Shyla and Delaney held hands tightly as their brother and sister stood in a circle, getting ready to be released into a bloodbath.

Four seconds.

Leo and Myrrah watched their sister carefully. That was all they could do, watch and pray. They felt helpless.

Three seconds.

Andy and Pip were trying to calm down their ill mother. Mrs. O'dell was getting worse with each passing day, and now their sister was about to embark in a dangerous game.

Two Seconds.

Jael was rooting for her sister. Sadie could do it, she would follow in her older sister's footseteps.

One Second.

On your mark, get set, go.

Zero seconds.

The whole world let out their breath as the countdown ended and the blood bath began.


	14. To Bathe in Blood

**To Bathe in Blood**

Lenea turned to her left and shoved the boy as hard as she could, he fell face first into the cold snow. She tried not to think as she lifted her foot and slammed it down on his skull. There was a crack and Corbin Pierce was no more. One down, twenty-two more to go. She knew that somewhere out there, Ritch was cheering her on. She grinned and waved to him.

xxx

Stelz headed for one of the girls, but she had already darted out of his reach. There was no point in rushing after Nan so he turned to the other girl. Elysia had dropped to the ground and was burying herself into the snow, trying to make herself invisible. She was a smart girl, but he was a ruthless killer. Bam. One more crushed to death by a District one tribute. It would become their trademark way of killing.

xxx

Corinne ran to the pile, she hoped that she could get a knife to defend herself. She unwrapped the first gift and grimaced in disgust. How was toothpaste a weapon? What was she supposed to do with it? Clean someone's teeth to death? So not cool. She tossed the tube backwards, it hit someone in the head.

xxx

Nat's airway was being cut off. Hands were around her neck, fingers that weren't hers were pressed into her air pipe. She was going to suffocate. She watched, wide-eyed as a tube of something white, was that toothpaste?, went flying towards her, she moved her head to the left, just enough for the tube to miss her and hit her assailant.

Dragan released Nat in shock. Whoever had thrown that tube of toothpaste was going to pay. He would deal with the fat sister later. He was enraged, flames were expected to come soaring out of his mouth at any second.

He grabbed the nearest gift and tore off the wrapping, smiling Santa's fell to the snow. An ax was revealed, perfect. He aimed, he swung, perfect.

Corinne felt something on the back of her neck. A short jolt of pain, then nothing. Her head tumbled to the ground, her body crumpled beside it. If a person was beheaded, did that make them brainless or bodiless? Didn't matter, either way she was dead.

xxx

Belle shot forward to the pile. She searched for a knife and swiftly flew it to Skylar then she found a weapon for herself. She ignored everything as she sorted through the gifts looking for useful items. Trash bag, check, she could use it to hold everything else. Socks, keep. A whoopee cushion, toss. An empty canteen, definitely keep. A stuffed bear, wtf? Get rid of.

She filled the bag as quickly as she could before tying a knot and making a break for it. She found Skylar in the crowd of bodies, she was having a fight with Richard. She was taunting him with her knife, his small fist was his only weapon. Sky dodged it easily. Belle swung the trash bag at the back of Richard's head. His eyes went wide and Skylar used the distraction to plunge the knife into his heart, she twisted it. He fell to the ground, his eyes open, but unseeing.

"Go!" Belle shouted and the two of them made a getaway towards the base of the mountains. Belle tossed Skylar a harness and some other climbing materials and found a set for herself. They began to climb.

xxx

Hunter found himself face to face with Anya, a career, but she hadn't aligned with the others. "Knock, knock," he said with his goofball grin, trying to ease the tension. She didn't respond, instead she looked up at the sky, as if searching for someone.

"You have to say who's there," Hunter explained.

"I can't," Anya whispered, he couldn't tell if she was talking to him or herself.

"Yes you can, it's easy," Hunter told her.

'They're watching," she murmured, but he was still confused.

"I can't let my brothers see me kill you," she shook her head and ran off, leaving Hunter standing there stunned. So knock knock jokes did work. He wondered who was his next victim. That's what his mom had always called it when he found some poor person to talk to.

He didn't get a chance before an ax was lodged in his back and he fell, the snow breaking his fall, not that it mattered, Hunter would never tell another lame joke.

xxx

Colten bolted towards Casey. She had gone after Nemo. He shouted her name but she was too occupied trying to keep Nemo away from her throat. He wasn't going to reach her in time. Nemo had a trident in his hand, Colt wasn't sure where the pronged fork had come from, and it didn't matter. All he knew was that it was dangerously close to Casey. He quickly glanced over at the spot where his sister had been standing. She was still there, Dragan's hands wrapped around her neck.

He could make it to her in time, if he ignored Casey's dilemma with Nemo. He made a split second descision. His sisters were going to kill him if he made it home alive.

"NO!" Colten shouted as he leaped, hoping that he had enough momentum to knock Nemo down.

"I had him," Casey complained as Nemo and Colten tumbled down in a tussle.

"Don't just stand there Casey," Colt yelled at her, and Casey joined in on the action. Together they managed to wrestle the trident away from Nemo. Colten risked a glance over to Nat, she was still alive, rubbing her neck. Dragan was occupied with stabbing Hunter in the back.

He felt a wave of relief rush over him. His sister was alive, for now. He turned back to Casey and Nemo, she was grinning from ear to ear. Nemo was dead, his own trident stuck out from his chest. The other careers were on their way over to get their revenge.

"RUN!" Colten grabbed Casey's hand and they bolted. He prayed that his sister had enough sense to follow them.

xxx

Sares found herself face to face with Jeremy. She had flirted with him during training, but he had not agreed to an alliance. He was one of the bigger tributes, and the scar on his face seemed even bigger and jagged then before.

Neither of them had weapons, but Jeremy had strength on his side. Sares tried to run from him, she was quick, but not quick enough. He had both of her hands behind her back faster then she could bat her eyelashes.

"Not so flirty now, are you babe?" He whispered in her ear. She tried not to whimper in pain, but her arms were in an awkward and painful position. She needed help.

"Well, if you're after a kiss," She tried to sound alluring, his eyes flashed in anger.

"Sares!" She heard someone shout her name, both her and Jeremy whirled around to see who owned the voice.

It was Reece, he had a knife in both hands. He ran at Jeremy and stabbed him in the hand.

"Really? That's the best you can do?" Sares tore herself away from her capturer, Reece handed her a knife and she stabbed Jeremy again, this time in the chest. Reece and Sares were left facing each other, both were armed. She wasn't sure what he was thinking, but if he wanted to kill her then she had to act first.

She acted, his eyes went wide as an already bloody knife entered him. "Why?" He asked as he fell down. Sares had no time to answer him, he was already dead and she had to get moving. She quickly glanced around, most of the tributes were locked in combat, the Christmas tree cornucopia was unoccupied. She raced to it and quickly grabbed up some climbing equipment then she sprinted away.

The faces of the two boys that she had killed were racing through her mind. Two kills, she was on a roll. She wondered where she could get some lunch meat, because she had worked up a hunger. So that was why it was called the HUNGER games.

xxx

Everyone else was occupied with someone else. Fret did the only thing he could do without getting himself killed, and that was running towards the mountains. The snow was still falling, it was already past his ankles which slowed down his running. But he had often ran in the snow, so it wasn't a huge problem for him. Not like it was for that girl from three. The girl from twelve had to keep pulling the other girl up out of the snow.

Fret made it to the mountain base and found a good one to climb, but he had forgotten to get climbing equipment and the snow on the mountain was slippery. He had to look for a path. He found one, only a few hundred feet away. He headed over there and began jogging up the path. He needed to get as far up as he could before the other tributes found the path.

xxx

Blood splattered the snow. Sadie did not plan on having her blood stain it as well. She was not going to be a victim of the blood bath battles. But Ethen was just standing there, an easy mark. The three careers that she had aligned with were waiting for her somewhere, she had to find them.

After she took care of Ethen though. She would get pulverized if she didn't take the opportunity in front of her. She was about to run to the pile of gifts to find a knife or something else that she could use as a weapon when Stelz came running up to her. Lenea was right behind him. The two tributes from District one took Ethen down and stepped on him. Sadie winced as she heard a crack.

"Where's Nemo?" Sadie asked as Lenea and Stelz rummaged through the pile to see what was left.

Lenea gestured to a bloody body with a trident sticking out of his chest. Sadie gaped in horror. Then she looked around to take in the rest of the scene. Bodies were littered all over the ground, they were the only three left at the site, the other tributes that had survived had already scattered.

Cannons began to boom. The blood bath was over.

xxx

Mark counted the booms as he hid up in a pine tree. He had found a grove of them off of a path up the mountains.

Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. Nine booms in a row. Nine down, fourteen left to go before the winner was crowned. Not bad for a blood bath. He was that much closer to winning. He had made it farther then his best friend Zach. He knew that somewhere up in the sky, Zach was looking down on him, watching him, keeping him safe.

"I miss you Zach," Mark murmured as he made himself comfortable in the tree.

xxx

Autumn was huddled beneath a pine tree. She had wanted to make it up to one of the caves in the peak of the mountains, but the mountain was taller then she had originally thought. It was getting dark and she was freezing. She couldn't go another step. Instead she watched the sky as the photos of the dead tributes flitted by.

Districts 1 and 2 were both safe as were the girls from 3, 4 and 5, But all of their male partners had died. Jeremy from 3, Nemo from 4 and Reece from 5. A career had died. It was a very rare occurrence for a career to die during the bloodbath. Autumn wondered who had managed to take him down.

District 6 was safe, her picture was not shown, which she thought was a good omen, since she was still alive, but Hunter's face was projected up into the sky. She said a small prayer for him. He wasn't a bad kid, and she was going to miss his, dare she say it?, his awful, lame jokes.

Both tributes from eight were dead, the two from nine were still alive, but the two from ten had perished. The boy from eleven was dead and the two from twelve had both made it through.

Nine gone on the first day. Autumn might have a chance after all.


	15. Die Another Day

**Die Another Day**

Richard's face appeared in the sky. Casey buried her face into her hands

"Casey," Colten said gently, but she just rocked back and forth as the tears fell. "Case," he tried again.

"Leave her alone Colt," Nat said as she paced back and forth.

"Nat," Colt whispered to his sister, "can't you see she's in pain, I need to comfort her."

Nat sighed but she went over to them and sat down next to Colten. Her brother was rubbing Casey's back, trying to help her out, but Casey was too upset to even notice that he was next to her.

"Remember when the twins got sick?" She asked him, he went stiff, they hadn't talked about the twins ever since the day that they had been buried under the old Hawthorne tree in the backyard.

"Mom and dad were still alive then," Colt replied, Nat nodded sadly. It seemed like it had happened forever ago.

"Tisha died first, went to sleep and never woke up. Tori lived for three more days before she finally succumbed to the sickness." It had been an awful time for the Henley family.

"I miss them so much," Colten sniffed a little.

"Me too Colt, me too," Nat said sadly, she knew that the cameras were trained on them, showing Panem their story, trying to jerk some tears from the audience. "But do you remember how Tori wanted to be left alone after Tisha died, how she was in so much pain that she couldn't bear to see anyone else. She just wanted to lie in misery."

Colten nodded, "mom wasn't that sick then, so she made us all clear out of the room to give Tori some privacy, then an hour later we all filed in and stayed with Tori so we could all grieve together." He turned back to Casey, thoughtful. "You're saying I need to give her some space."

"Just for a little bit, she'll talk when she's ready, we can't force her."

Nat had always been the wise one. He gave Casey a quick peck on the cheek and then got up.

"We won't be far Casey," Nat told the girl, but Casey was lost in her grief and hadn't heard Nat speak.

"I won the bet," Nat said as they looked out on the arena, the bodies were gone but the blood still remained. The three careers were camped out by the cornucopia. They were trying to light a fire, but all the logs were wet with snow and they couldn't get a spark.

"What bet?" Colten asked, then he remembered, the one where Hunter would die during the blood bath. They had made it on the train. "He was very funny."

"That he was," Nat replied back. She had to watch what was said, they were being filmed, and one bad sentence could ruin their lives.

"There are only three careers in the alliance, if we can eliminate them, then we might have a chance."

YOU might have a chance, Nat thought, but didn't say it aloud. She didn't want Colt to know that she was still concentrating on getting him home alive. Things were different now though, Casey was now in the picture. She wondered if he could live without her. Tori couldn't live without her twin, which was why she died three days later. Tori had been getting better, she was going to live until Tisha took a turn for the worst and died.

Her mother died two weeks after Tori, and her father just a day later. He couldn't live without his wife. The Henley's loved too much, that was their fatal flaw. It was what killed Tori and their father. She hoped that it wouldn't kill Colten too. Because then it would kill her, then Shyla and Delaney. The butterfly effect, or was it the domino effect. She couldn't remember.

"We better go back," Nat said reluctantly.

"You hate her, don't you," Colten wasn't accusing her, just stating a fact. Nat didn't have to ask him who he was talking about.

"No, I don't Colt, I just hate the circumstances."

"Same thing," Colten mumbled.

Nat grabbed his arm and swung him back to her, "do you love her?" Nat asked him.

"You know I do," he replied.

"You haven't even known her for a week Colt, so how can you be so sure?"

"Because I've known her for less than a week and I already feel as if I've known her my whole life," he replied as he looked over to where Casey was still sitting. She looked so small and vulnerable. "I really do love her."

"Then so do I Colt, I trust you, and if you love her, then that makes her part of the family and we will do whatever we can to protect her."

"Thanks Nat," he said, it was a relief to know that his sister wasn't going to try and murder his girlfriend. He walked back to where they had left Casey. She was still there. He took his place next to her again and Casey leaned into him.

"I promised him," Casey finally said after ten minutes of silence. "I promised Richard that I would protect him."

"It wasn't your fault," Colten tried to reassure her.

"Yes it was, I was so intent on getting my revenge and killing a career that I forgot about Richard, I let him die. I am a failure."

"You're not a failure," Colten looked at Nat for help. Nat usually had a gift for making others feel better. He had always gone to her when he needed advice, well, most of the time he went to her. And he knew that Shyla and Delaney had always gone to Nat for help.

Nat sat down next to them. "Look at me," she told Casey firmly. Casey looked up into Nat's grey eyes. "You're not a failure, if you were then you'd be dead too."

"Not helping Nat," Colten murmured, but Nat ignored him, she knew what she was doing. At least, she hoped she did.

"Look Casey, people die all the time, everyone dies, it's just a matter of when and how. If Richard didn't die today then someone else, maybe even you, would have died in his place. If he didn't die today then he might die tomorrow, or the next day. Life is too short to have regrets, it's too short to blame yourself."

Great, Colten thought, Nat was on one of her rants again. They were going to be here for awhile. At least until another tribute came to finish them off or a gamemakers trick popped up.

**xxxxxxx**

"Is it ever going to stop snowing?" Skylar complained for the millionth time as Belle and Skylar huddled in one of the peak caves.

"It looks like it's slowing down," Belle pointed up to the clouds, they weren't as gray as they were before.

"Good, I hate the snow," Skylar grumbled.

Belle laughed, "you've only experienced it this one time," she pointed out. Skylar glared at her new friend.

"And I hope to never see it again."

"I can make that happen," said a low voice from the mouth of the cave. Both girls screamed.

"RUN!" Belle shouted.

"WHERE?" Skylar yelled back. They were trapped like rats in a small cave. The only exit was where Dragan stood with an ax.

"Here," Skylar sent a knife flying, Belle caught it, blade side, her hand was cut open. She winced in pain but bolted at Dragan with the knife point staring at his jugular vein. Blood went flying in all directions.

Dragan easily knocked it out of her hand, it went flying into the darkness of the cave.

"Over here dingbat," Skylar taunted him, trying to distract him so Belle could find another weapon. "You couldn't hit me if I was as big as a house."

"Skye," Belle said, "you just made fun of yourself."

"Oh yeah, uh, you couldn't hit me if you have five axes," Skylar amended.

"What are five axes going to do if he only has two hands," Belle pointed out as she inched towards the back of the cave where the knife had fallen.

"Belle, you're missing the point."

"Actually, I don't think I am."

"Fine, you couldn't hit me if you have five hands and each of them held an ax."

"That's better," Belle congratulated her, she felt around in the dark, looking for the blade which had already cut her.

"Why thank you!" Skylar took a low bow, twirling her hand in mock exaggeration.

"Oh shut up you two, you're giving me a headache," Dragan grumbled. The two girls grinned at each other. That was a start.

"So where were we?" Skylar asked.

Bingo. Belle had found the knife. She grabbed it up, slicing her other hand, she would tend to her wounds later. She stood up.

"Right about here," Belle said as both girls lunged towards Dragan and slashed at him together.

"You're going to have to do better than that," he told them nastily, not even bothering to check out his wounds. Neither of the girls had struck a vital organ.

"I think we can arrange that," Skylar shot back.

"I don't think so," Dragan said as he swung his ax, Skylar shout out in pain as the blade hit her foot. She dropped down to the ground.

"SKY!" Belle yelled in concern, she wanted to run over to her friend, but Dragan was coming towards her, ax raised.

"I'm okay," Skylar groaned back, "just end his life." Then she closed her eyes and passed out. Belle was on her own.

"I don't think so," Belle shouted at him as she twisted to the left, his ax hit the ground, Belle managed to knock him down. She was about to stab him in the back when he reached for her ankle and locked his fingers around it. "Umphf," she grunted as she went tumbling down to the cave floor.

Dragan was laughing manically. "The princess has fallen."

Belle wasn't one to give up easily. She flailed around, kicking her feet, she managed to connect her right foot with his face.

"Ouch, you bitch."

"It's not nice to curse you bastard," she kicked again, but missed him. Instead the ax went sailing out of the cave. She heard it falling down the mountain. Boom, thump, boom.

"I'll get you for that my pretty," Dragan fled from the cave, leaving Belle with a thumping heart and an unconscious Skylar.

"Hey, wake up sleeping beauty," Belle shook her friend, Skylar groaned. "Hey," Belle smiled as Skylar's pretty green eyes opened.

"Did you get him?" Skylar asked, Belle hung her head in shame.

"He left, but I gave him a black eye."

"We'll get him, but we should probably move caves now that he knows which one we're in."

"Are you sure you're okay?" They both looked down at Skylar's foot. A very scary looking gash ran across it. "Can you move your toes?" Belle asked. Skylar tried but the toes stayed motionless.

"We'll have to clean that," Belle said, trying to keep her stomach from churning. She had never had an iron stomach when it came to stuff like that, "do you know anything about treating wounds?" She asked hopefully.

"Absolutely nothing," Skylar replied as they both looked down at the gash, both clueless as to what to do. Belle bit her lip in frustration.

"Belle, you're hurt too," Skylar gasped as she saw the dried blood on Belle's palms.

"It's nothing," Belle wiped her hands on her pants.

"It's not nothing, we have to take care of that."

"How?"

"Uh, good point. Do you have any water so we can clean the wounds?"

"No, none, but there's the snow," Belle pointed outside to where it was still snowing, although, it had slowed down a lot. As if the sky was squeezing out the last bit.

"Is that even sanitary?"

"We have no choice," Belle darted outside and emerged her hands in the snow, the pain was dulled. "It's good for numbing the pain," Belle brought a handful over and dumped it on Skylar's foot.

"Ah, much better."

"Let's just wrap up our wounds and then get moving."

They cleaned and bandaged their cuts as good as they could, which wasn't all that professional, but it would do. Belle grabbed the trashbag full of their goodies and Skylar leaned against Belle, using her as her crutch. They stumbled out of the cave, leaving traces behind, but neither of them were too worried about it.

The snow was deep, almost up to their waist and they had trouble walking in it. It was slow moving with Skylar's injured foot and the thick snow.

"I think it stopped," Belle looked up, and sure enough, the sky was clear, the last flake had just fallen. Then the ground shook and both girls were thrown to the ground as their world shifted.

"What's going on?" Skylar asked as they were thrown about.

"Beats me," Belle held on to her friend as they flew through the air. Wait? What? They were flying? Then the earth stopped moving and they were tossed back to the ground. But it was no longer freezing, there was not a single flake of snow on the ground.

Instead they were standing on top of a cliff overlooking a huge lake with a whirlpool in the middle.

"What the?"

Then a voice was magnified for all to hear, "welcome to the Hourglass arena." The voice disappeared and Skylar and Belle were left to ponder that statement.


	16. Battle of the Sexes

**Battle of the Sexes**

"Welcome to the Hourglass Arena!"

Nan Weatherall stood at the edge of the cliff, looking down at a lake. The whirlpool in the center did not look friendly.

She looked around at her surroundings, all of the remaining tributes were also standing around the cliff, as if they had just started the games and were waiting for the minute to be up to start the blood bath. But she wasn't standing on a plate that would blow up if she stepped off to soon, no one was counting down the seconds, she was free to move as she pleased.

Everyone was standing in stunned silence, unaware of what to do. There was no cornucopia this time. She figured that it was still in the other arena, the one with the mountains and snow. But now she was in arena with cliffs and water, there were several trees behind her, but that was about it.

At the moment the water was flush with a ledge about five feet below the edge of the cliff. There was a path to Nan's right that led down to the lake. After being in the other arena where the only water source was to suck on the snow, her first instinct was to run down the path to get some water. Her mouth drooled at the sight of the massive lake.

But Nan was smart, and she knew that all the other tributes would run to the lake and that would guarantee a second blood bath. She had escaped the first one, and she was determined to escape the second one as well. So she would hide and wait for the other tributes to finish. But she was so thirsty.

She had managed to secure a backpack a backpack from the cornucopia yesterday, and to her relief it was still strapped on her back. She grabbed the water canteen that was snuggled in one of the mesh pockets. The other tributes were still standing where they had been dropped.

Nan made the first move, she darted to the path, barreled down to the edge, filled the canteen and headed back to the path. But it was blocked. Dragan was there, and he looked even meaner than before. The black eye on the right side of his face did nothing to calm the fear in her chest. She briefly wondered which brave tribute had managed to give him that.

He held an ax in his hand, the fact that it wasn't a knife only calmed down the thumping of her heart by one or two beats. He had promised that the next time he threw a knife it would pierce her heart. Well she didn't a see knife in his possession.

She had nothing to defend herself with. Except for a full water canteen, if he came closer she might be able to swing it and hit him on his head. The idea didn't appeal to her, but it was her best bet.

She could probably outrun him, actually, she could definitely outrun him. She turned and sprinted around the lake, but another tribute was blocking her path. She was trapped, Dragan was on one end, and whatsherface was on the other.

"I don't think so, you're not getting away this time," Dragan sneered at her. Oh yes she was, Nan would rather face the girl whose name she couldn't remember then Dragan. There was no way she could take him on. She pumped her legs, putting as much distance as she could between them.

"WATCH OUT!" The girl shouted, "DUCK."

Nan tumbled down to the ground, the ax missed her by inches and lodged in the ground just above her head. If she hadn't of dropped to the ground then the ax would be lodged in her back. The other girl grabbed the ax and waved it at Dragan.

"Ha, whacha gonnato do now you goon?" She taunted him. Dragan sneered at the two girls but he wasn't done torturing them. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a very shiny and sharp knife. Shivers went up and down Nan's spine. She did not like the look of that.

Nan wanted to run, she wanted to find a small hole and hide there until everyone else was dead. She hated trying to fight for her life, it was bad for her nerves. But the girl who was taunting Dragan seemed to know what she was doing. Maybe Nan should make an alliance, at least for a little bit.

"It's not nice to pick on people who are smaller then you," the other girl taunted again. Nan wished that she could remember the girl's name.

"And it's not smart to taunt someone who is bigger then you are Autumn," Dragan replied nastily. Ah, so that was her name. Autumn, the girl from seven.

"I only taunt when I know I can win," Autumn shot back.

They were attracting a crowd, most of the other tributes were watching the exchange with Dragan. It was Autumn vs. Dragan and they were all rooting for Autumn. No one wanted Dragan to breathe the same air with them ever again. If Autumn didn't end his life then someone else would.

But if Autumn was able to cut his string, then she would be viewed as a strong competitor. Sponsors would be flocking to send her gifts. Autumn was a good person to have as an ally if she could defeat the horrible dragon.

Autumn reached down to dislodge the ax.

"Ha, a girl like you can't pick up that ax, it's too heavy," Dragan taunted her.

Autumn fixed a glare at him, "oh yeah, watch me," she didn't even grunt as she pulled at the ax. It came up at once, she didn't even stumble backwards as she adjusted the weight in her hand. She raised it up.

"How do you like me now?" She took a step towards Dragan. Hm, one with an ax, one with a knife. Nan wasn't sure who was at an advantage. All she knew was that Dragan was going to try to murder Autumn.

Nan couldn't let that happen. She had to save Autumn, she owed her that much. Nan hated to see the innocent get bullied, and even though she had problems sticking up for herself, she could easily stick up for others. One good deed deserves another.

"Hey stupid!" Nan shouted, okay, so she wasn't' that great with coming up with insults. Her brain was wired to solve problems and riddles, not come up with insults.

"Mind your own business shorty," Dragan responded as he advanced on Autumn.

"At least she's not mentally impaired," Autumn shot back.

"Ooh, now you're both gonna get it," Dragan raised his hand, he was aiming at Autumn. Everyone knew what a good shot he was. She ducked just as Dragan changed course and the knife went sailing through the air.

It landed right on target. Nan's eyes went wide as the knife entered her chest. Her hands flew to the handle and tried to pull it out, but the deed was done, it was too late.

Autumn shouted as she watched Nan fall to her knees, gasping for air.

"I told you I was going to get your heart," Dragan said as Nan breathed her last. A cannon was shot.

"You monster," Autumn screamed at the top of her lungs, "you utter monster." She lunged at him, landing on his back. He stumbled forward in surprise, right into the lake.

Most lakes gradually get deep, but not this lake, this lake was seven feet deep at the edge, and much much deeper in the center where the whirlpool was.

Autumn squealed as the freezing cold water cascaded over her. She was unable to touch the bottom. She wrapped her arms around Dragan's beefy neck as they sank. He thrashed about, trying to get air. If he could swim, he couldn't do it with Autumn weighing him down. He tried to lose her, but if she was going to drown, then she was taking him down with her.

_Kick, _she heard a voice say. It sounded oddly familiar. She wondered where it was coming from. _Autumn, kick,_ the voice repeated. But I can't swim, she thought. _Kick. _So she unwrapped her arms from Dragan, he continued to sink, but she somehow managed to break through to the surface.

Several of the tributes were still standing on the ledge with their groups. The careers were on the opposite end though, and hadn't made a move towards them. Nan's lifeless body was still there. Autumn wanted it gone, she didn't want to see it. She had failed to save Nan. She wasn't far from the ledge, but she could barely even doggy paddle, she wasn't sure how she was going to get back to land.

"Here," one of the other girls said, Autumn was too far away to see who it was. A rope was thrown into the water, it landed an arm's length away. Autumn reached for it. She was pulled to shore, Nat helped her up.

"Thanks," Autumn said, smiling at Nat. Nat gave a sad smile back.

"Is he dead?" Casey asked.

"I think so," Autumn replied.

"I don't think so," Nat said matter-of-factly, "there hasn't been a cannon for him yet." They stood there in silence for a few moments, waiting for the boom that would signal the death of Dragan. There was none.

"No one saw him resurface, right?" Autumn asked, everyone shook their heads. Autumn shivered, "that water was freezing, almost to the point where it was ice."

"Didn't the voice say 'Welcome to the Hourglass Arena," Casey pointed out. They stared at her in confusion.

"What if this is the top of the hourglass, pretend the lake is the sand, it's pouring down a hole into the mountain arena where we started. When the lake is empty then the hourglass will be flipped over again and we'll be transferred back to the mountain arena. Then it will begin to snow. When it stops snowing that means that the lake has emptied again, the hourglass will flip and we'll be transferred back here."

Autumn wasn't sure that she liked where Casey was going with it.

"So…"

"So what if Dragan was sucked down the hole and fell back down to the mountain arena." None of them liked that idea, that meant that he was still alive and he would be waiting for the water to run out. He would be waiting to get his revenge.

But it made sense, because the water was getting lower, it was no longer flush with the ledge. Autumn went over to where Nan was still sprawled out on the ground.

"I'm sorry," she whispered as she relieved Nan of her backpack and water canteen. She stood up, Nat and her group were already gone, they had disappeared into the woods. It was probably for the best.

Autumn left so they could pick up Nan's body. She looked for the careers but they were gone, probably off hunting Nat and her group. Autumn had to go find her own hiding spot, she needed to warm up, she needed to find some food, and she needed to clear her head.

As she walked, she wondered who's voice she had heard while she was drowning. It had sounded familiar, like a voice that she used to hear all the time, but hadn't heard in forever.

Kick Autumn. It had said, almost in a loving way, but firm. The tone of voice that parents used with their kids when they were chastising them, but also wanted the kids to know that they were still loved.

All of a sudden, it hit her, like a brick to her stomach. It had been her dad. He had told her to kick. He didn't want her to die. He had come to her and helped her survive. She had to sit down, there was a rock off to the side. She made herself comfortable.

"Thanks dad," she said a loud. She hoped that he had heard her, wherever he was. "I miss you."

The woods were silent, almost too silent. Autumn wondered what kind of secrets the arena held, what other tricks were up the Gamemaker's sleeves. She really didn't want to know.

But she would find out all too soon.

The ground began to shake. The lake couldn't have been emptied already. Then she heard loud footsteps and screaming.

"RUN!" Sares went flying past Autumn. Autumn was too stunned to move. "MOVE IT NOW!" Sares called over her shoulder, then the girl was out of sight. Autumn figured that she had better take Sares advice, the girl had seemed scared.

She hadn't even made it three feet before she saw what had scared Sares. A huge monster. He was at least ten feet tall, five feet wide, and very furry. He looked like a gigantic bear, and he looked hungry. Autumn ran. So did the monster. She ran faster, she darted through the trees and tried to lose him, but continued to trample after her.

The name of the monster came to her mind. Bigfoot.


	17. Life isn't Fair

A parachute fell from the sky, landing directly in Anya O'dells lap. Her first gift from a sponsor, she was shocked, she really had no need for anything right now. Her mentor should have waited until she was in dire need. Unless they wanted to send her a sauteed lobster, with clarified garlic butter and some caramelized onions, that would be okay. She would never say no to that. Maybe some steamed fish, fried flounder, seared scallops. Her mouth was watering just thinking about her favorite foods.

Her fingers trembled as she untied the knot and an envelope was revealed. It was addressed to her, her name written in a flowery script. Anya knew exactly who had written it. Dread inhabited her whole body, she didn't want to open it, she already knew what it said.

Her eyes blurred but she blinked back the tears. She knew that she was being aired for all to see and she didn't want them to view her as weak.

_Dear Anya, I regret to inform you that your mother passed today. Love, Grandma Lynn. _

Seriously that was all her grandmother had said? Lynn couldn't have bothered to write a bit more, or say it a bit gentler. Grandma Lynn had never done subtle and gentle though. She always got straight to the point.

She hadn't even gotten to say goodbye to her mother. Mrs. O'dell was too sickly to go to the Justice Building to see her daughter, and the Peacekeepers wouldn't allow Anya to run home and hug her mother.

Screw looking weak, this moment required tears. Her mother was dead. She was now an orphan. Her brothers were now orphans. She needed to win more than ever. She needed to get home. They needed her. What was little Pip going to do if she wasn't there to comfort him after a nightmare. Who was going to torture Andy when he finally started liking girls and was dating. Yes, they had their grandmother, but it wasn't the same. Andy and Pip needed her, they needed their older sister.

How dare their mother get sick! How dare she die! Didn't she know that her three children needed her. Anya's anger consumed her, she balled up the letter and was about to tear it into tiny little pieces when she heard shouts, the earth shook, as if some giant monster was running through the forest. She heard the beast's angry roar before she saw it. She gulped.

Fret came running into view, and he was running as fast as he could. Anya could tell that he was already getting tired. She stuffed the letter in her pocket and took off after Fret. She was better at swimming then running, she was hoping that she could make it to the lake, maybe the monster couldn't swim.

Fret was slowing down a lot, she was catching up to him. Anya pushed herself and she went careering past him, and not a moment too soon. The monster extended an arm, and the furry limb was a blur as it whizzed down and plucked Fret up like he was a daisy. Anya half expected the monster to start tearing Fret apart, he loves me, he loves me not, he loves me, he loves me not.

They were no longer in the trees, they were up on the cliffs, and Anya could see the lake below, it was a lot lower then it was before. She hurried to the path that led down to the ledge, but then Autumn and Sares came running from her left and Belle and Skylar were running from her right side. Each pair had an identical monster after them.

There were three of them. Three huge, very hungry monsters. The one that was after her was still waving Fret in his hand. But the boy was no longer moving, he had probably been crushed. There hadn't been a cannon for him yet.

Autumn had an ax in her hand and she was using it to keep her monster at bay. It wasn't helping that much. Anya briefly wondered where the careers and the brother/sister group was. She didn't see them. She hadn't heard cannons since the one went off a few hours ago. She wasn't sure who it had been for.

There was a crack, a crunch, then a boom. Anya's stomach churned, she knew exactly what had happened. She didn't have to look at the monster's empty hand to know that Fret had been eaten.

The five girls scurried down the path, pushing and shoving to be the first down. No one wanted to be the last, not with three huge monsters trailing right behind them. But all the girls were fast, especially Belle and Skylar. But they had all been running for a long time, and they were all getting tired.

They made it to the ledge, Anya dove in the water, she wasn't taking any chances. She hoped that some of the other girls couldn't swim. If the monsters were occupied with them then they wouldn't come after her.

Screams filled the air as the monsters grabbed at the other girls. Autumn brought her ax down, severing the foot off one of the monsters. Autumn must be pretty strong for her to swing like that.

Then they were gone, just like that. Furry monsters didn't just disappear like that anywhere, but in the games, anything was possible. The Gamemakers probably didn't want all the girls to die the same way, so they got rid of the monsters.

XXX

It took Sares several moments to realize that the Bigfeets were gone. She had always thought that they had been made up. A tale told to scare the children and keep them out of the woods. Either they were real or the mad scientists were experimenting with mutants again. She had the sudden urge to break out in song.

"What were those things?" Skylar asked, bringing Sares out of the confines of her mind where a scientist in a white lab coat was doing a white boy dance.

"Bigfoot," Autumn replied in disgust, all that remained was one big furry foot.

Now that the bigfoot threat was gone, the five girls were left together. The Gamemakers wouldn't be happy if there was no fight that led to a death. They had brought the girls together for a reason, they wanted a bloody battle.

Sares knew that if they dispersed then the Bigfeet, or something much worse, would come back.

Sares didn't want to get caught up in another fight, especially if she couldn't use her best asset. She doubted that the other girls would stop in their tracks if they saw Sares boobs, and the bigfeet would probably try to eat them. Now if it was Stelz or one of the other boys that were still alive then they might pause to gaze at Sares chest. Not many boys were left though, it was mainly girls. Girl power!

The other girls seemed to realize the same thing. Anya dove under the water and disappeared from view. She finally resurfaced on the other side. She was a good swimmer. Naturally, she was from District 4.

So it was Sares, Skylar, Autumn and Belle. It was plain to see that Skylar and Belle had formed an alliance, so it was Sares vs Autumn vs Skylar and Belle. Maybe if she formed a brief alliance with Autumn then she wouldn't feel outnumbered.

Sares looked all around for the knife that she swore that she had. She couldn't find it.

"Watcha looking for?" Skylar asked.

"My knife, I swore I had one."

"Did bigfoot take it?"

"Har, har," Sares said dryly. She wasn't in the mood for jokes. She checked the others for weapons. Autumn had an ax and the other two both had knives. Skylar was smirking. Upon closer examination Sares saw that Skylar had two knives, and one didn't belong to her.

"You have my knife," Sares pointed at the one in Skylar's left hand.

"The one that bigfoot took," Skylar smirked again, twirling the knife in her hand.

Skylar and Belle were advancing on her, Sares hit the ground, going into a somersault. Within seconds the four girls were at each other's throats. No longer were they joking and having a good time. They were out for the kill. Sares needed to take out her competition, the more she could get rid of, the higher her odds of winning.

Autumn and Belle were at it, leaving Skylar to deal with Sares. Sares raced to the tree line, there were some rocks there, maybe she could throw them. She picked one up in the nick of time. She threw it, Skylar easily deflected it.

She heard screams from the other two. Sares ignored it, but Skylar couldn't. She headed over to Belle's aide. Autumn had her ax raised above Belle who was sprawled out on the ground. Skylar managed to distract Belle.

A foot shot out, tripping Autumn. Sares didn't even wait to see what would happen next. She left while she still had a chance.

Sares disappeared into the woods. She found a hiding spot in a tree and listened for a canon. There was none. So all three girls were either still fighting or had all survived. Sares didn't wish for any of their deaths, she just didn't want them to win either.

Her stomach grumbled, she was hungry, she needed food. Her mouth was dry, she needed water. Ugh, she hadn't thought things through when she had escaped from the lake. She would have to go back to get water. Maybe she could convince that girl from 4 to spear some fish for the two of them to share. She doubted that the Career girl would go for it, although it didn't seem as if Anya had joined the Careers.

Sares needed water and food. Or at least water. She swung through the tree tops and made it to the edge of the forest. She couldn't see the ledge, the trees were too far back.

She waited on the branch of the tree while she watched. There didn't seem to be any movement, she couldn't hear anyone talking. She needed a weapon, she needed to defend herself somehow. Even if she did have a weapon, she didn't know how to use it. She would have to chance it, because her mouth was getting dryer by the second.

She jumped from the tree, landing swiftly on her feet.

She took off back down to the lake, and almost turned around. Anya was caught in a fight with the three Careers. They hadn't seen Sares yet, and they were on the opposite side. Sares felt semi-safe. She decided to go with the sneaky creeping method. It worked, Sares made it to the edge without being detected.

The water was even lower, she had to lay down on the ground and reach down. She had nothing to put the water in, except for her hand. She made a bowl with her palm and sucked it up. She hated being so unprepared. She drank her fill before getting up. She didn't bother to brush off the dirt as she headed back to the trees. She looked back one last time, Anya seemed to be holding her own, but it was still three against one. Sares darted off.

She made camp in a tree. She really wished that she had some granola bars or something. She was starving. But at least she wasn't thirsty anymore. "I could use some help down here," she said, hoping that her mentor was listening. Well, she knew that her mentor was listening, but would she respond? Did Sares have any sponsors? She sure hoped that she did. Because she needed help, and she had no problems admitting it.

The anthem was played and then two pictures were shown. One was of Nan, the small girl from five. The other was Fret, she was the only one left from her District. She felt strangely alone.


	18. Blood on her Fingers

It had been two days since they had been dumped into an arena to fight for the death. Two lousy, horrible days. Mark Vires had had bad days before, but nothing had compared to the last two days.

The day his mother had died used to be number one on his list of bad days. Then the day Zach was reaped was added to that list at number two. When Zach died during the bloody first day, it became number one, pushing his mother's death to number two. As much as he loved his mother, he could never forgive her for dying and leaving him with his father.

So Mark knew what bad days were. He knew what nights without food felt like, the dull pain in his stomach that he couldn't get rid of. He knew what skinny was, a skeleton of a boy just trying to get by, trying to live for one more day.

He knew what that felt like too, living for one more day. It was difficult to do in District 12, so many died. But Mark didn't want to be like his mother, he wanted to be stronger then she had been.

Mark knew what it felt like to live in constant fear. Fear that his father was going to come home drunk again, fear that his father would be in one of his hitting moods again. Mark had been given so many bruises from a raised hand. He almost wished that there was some kind of protective services out there to remove kids like him from abusive households. But everyone in his District turned the other eye when it came to abuse.

It was almost morning, there was still a pocket of moonlight coming from above, shining through the trees. But soon the sun would be shinning, the birds would be doing their annoying chirping, and the other tributes would be on the hunt.

Mark had managed to grab a few things from the cornucopia before he narrowly escaped. One of them had been an empty canteen, which he desperately needed to fill. He wished that he was back in the other arena, the snow capped one, because then he could boil down some snow and ta-da!, homemade water! He had felt more at home in the other arena, this one was too green, too sunny, too different. It also reminded him of the arena that Zach had died in.

Everything made him think of Zach. He missed his best friend. But there was nothing that he could do about that, nothing at all. Except win for the both of them. Then he could go home, live in the Victor's Village and get away from his abusive father. The only flaw in his plan was that Haymitch Abernathy would be his only neighbor. Haymitch was his mentor, and also Belle's because there had never been a female victor for their District. He was eighteen, and he was so full of himself, because he had only been the second to win from their District. But he was also moody, sarcastic and mean. But that was because his whole family had died only a few weeks after he won his games. Mark thought that he was too loud, too stuck up and too cocky. But if he had to chose between living with his father or living next to Haymitch, he'd chose the cocky son of a bitch any old day.

Mark slipped down to the ground and carefully trudged through the trees, he was careful not to make a sound, he didn't want the other tributes to know that he was around. He had a small dagger in his back pocket, the other item that he had managed to grab from the cornucopia.

He could almost hear his mom yelling "don't put your knife there, boy, what if you sit on it" but she was dead, she was never going to give him advice again.

There were no tributes to be seen as he made his way to the lake. That worried him, a lot. He hadn't seen any of the others lately. They had to be around somewhere though, twelve tributes didn't just disappear into thin air.

He mentally made a list of those still alive. Lenea and Stelz from one. Both from two, Sadie and Dragan. Skylar and Anya from three and four. The siblings from six. Autumn and Sares from seven and nine. Casey from eleven, and the girl from his district, Belle. And him. Only thirteen. A baker's dozen.

He walked down the path to the lake, and came face to face with two very scary looking tributes. Mark turned on his heel and tried to run, but a third tribute had come from out of nowhere and was blocking his escape route.

"You're blocking the only water source," Mark pointed out, the girl scowled at him. "Careful, your face might freeze like that."

"I think he shall be the next to die," Lenea said, almost sexily. If she wasn't about to dismember him, then he might have been a bit turned on by her sexy body, but her knife was dangerously close to his favorite anatomy.

"Now Lenea, we shouldn't play with our food," Stelz replied as he showed Mark his knife.

"Aw, but darling," she purred, "that's my favorite part."

"I know pookie," he assured her. Only Mark noticed the look that passed over Lenea's face as Stelz used a pet name on her. Mark could tell that the girl hated the boy, but she was doing a great job of pretending otherwise. Mark had hidden his emotions for so long, that he could easily read the expressions of others. And Lenea was putting out an extreme dislike for Stelz.

Maybe Mark could use that to his advantage. "Why don't you two get a room," he suggested.

Lenea gave him a disgusted look, but Stelz was ready to take him up on the offer.

"Well Lenea, if you really want to," Stelz said stealthy.

"Only in your wildest dreams," Lenea replied, "and Ritch will find you in your dreams and beat you to a pulp.

Mark slowly moved his hand to his back pocket to grab his dagger while the two of them bickered.

He felt pressure on his back and he went down to the ground. He umphed in surprise as the air was knocked out of him. He wanted to hit himself for being so stupid, he had forgotten that Sadie had been right behind him.

"I don't think so bud," she said as she relieved him of his dagger. Lenea and Stelz were paying attention to him again, a truce had been called so they could take out another tribute. Mark didn't have a chance. Sadie had one foot on his back, he had four knives trained on him and his right wrist was hurting him like crazy. He must have landed on it wrong when he fell.

Lenea was merciful. She didn't cut off bits and pieces like he thought she was going to. Instead she ran the knife through his body. Mark's breathing slowed down and his life flashed before his eyes.

He saw Zach explaining to him how girls worked. He saw his mother running her hand through his disheveled hair. He saw the face of the girl back home whom he thought was semi-cute. He saw a raised hand getting ready to strike. He saw the bully from school picking on him. He saw the token that Zach had given him.

Then the past images changed to the present. Lenea gleaming with happiness at another kill, Sadie looking at him almost apologetic and Stelz looking angry because Lenea had stolen the kill from him.

Then the images changed again and he saw his the smiling faces of his mother and Zach, beckoning at him to come with them. They were glowing, they looked well and happy. Mark wanted to be with them. He went towards the light.

Another cannon was shot.

Lenea quickly turned to Stelz and before he had a chance to process the change of events, he was down on his knees, a sharp pain in his chest. Lenea had ran a knife through him. He had always known that she was the back-stabbing type of girl, but this time she was a front-stabber.

He looked up at Lenea with questions in his eyes. "Why?" He asked as he touched his bloody wound. Lenea held the knife in her hand, stained with the blood from both Mark and Stelz.

She ran her finger through the blood and brushed it on her cheeks, it made her look like a savage, a very gorgeous savage.

"Good night, _pookie,"_ she purred at him as she kicked him down to the ground and crushed his skull. Then she looked upwards, "are you proud of me yet Ritch?"

The second cannon of the day went off. Two tributes lay slain.

"Come on Sadie," Lenea barked at the District two tribute. Sadie looked stunned, she couldn't believe the turn of events. She had seen what Lenea was capable of, and it terrified her. Lenea would most likely be the cause of Sadie's death if she wasn't careful. Sadie carefully weighed her choices. She could see three. One, leave. Two, stay with Lenea. Three, kill Lenea.

The first choice was no good. Lenea would kill Sadie as soon as Sadie turned her back. The second choice was iffy, Lenea would kill Sadie as soon as Sadie had fulfilled her use. The third choice was her best bet.

Lenea eyed her as the wheels in Sadie's head turned. "I wouldn't do it," she warned Sadie.

"Do what?" Sadie played dumb.

"I don't play those types of games Sally," Lenea said, "you know exactly what I'm talking about."

"And you know that my name is Sadie," she shot back. Sadie turned her two knives onto Lenea. Lenea just laughed, tossing her hair back as her head bobbed.

Before either girl had a chance to make their move, the ground sifted. The lake was empty, the hourglass was turning, and all of the surviving tributes, save for one, were dumped back onto the snow.

Dragan was waiting, an evil glint in his eyes, a smirk on his lips, a knife in one hand, a sword in the other.


	19. How to Train your Dragan

**Chapter 19: How to Train your Dragon**

The snow was cold. Skylar had hoped that she would never see that awful stuff again. She had been spoiled in the warmth of the other arena, and now she was back in the snow. This constant back and forth between climates was going to give her the flu or pneumonia or something.

And the very scary monster in front of her was going to give her nightmares for the rest of her life. She half hoped that the bigfoot would come back. She'd rather face that monster then the Dragan thing in front of her.

He was out for blood. But he seemed confused as to whose blood he wanted more. There were so many choices, like at a restaurant, there were always way too many things on the menu to chose from. Today's specials: Belle Sandwich, Skylar soup, Sadie salad or Nat pasta. Not to mention the desserts: Colt cake, Autumn ice cream, Anya pie, Lenea crème brulee, Casey cheesecake or Sares shortcake.

The pasta, cake and cheesecake were eighty-sixed before Dragan had a chance to order. Nat, Colt and Casey were blurs in the distance as they hightailed it out of Dragan's reach. Dragan let them go, he would get them later. Besides, the one that he really wanted was right there, in front of him, looking sweet and innocent.

Ha, yeah right. There was nothing sweet and innocent about Sadie Cross. The girl was four years younger than he was, but he still knew her. He did not have good history with her. Sadie was the one that he wanted to kill the most. She seemed to realize that too.

She was ready. She had been looking forward to this day for a long time. She might have been skeptic at first, but now she knew for sure. Dragan deserved to die. Maybe he was the only one who really did. Regardless, everyone would die, all except for her. Sadie still had a clean slate, she hadn't murdered anyone yet, Dragan would be her first kill. Lenea would be her second.

Jael had told her that the first kill would be the hardest, but it would only get easier after that. Jael didn't have a soul, she had killed seven tributes herself when she was in the games. Seven! That was more than twenty five percent. Jael won that year for most kills. Sadie wasn't going to try and beat Jael's score.

"I told you this day would come," Sadie said as she stepped forward towards Dragan. Now was her chance to take revenge, she wasn't going to let it slip by, not again. Lenea stayed to watch, but the others disappeared. The snow fell down, landing on Sadie's hair, leaving white dots in her black hair.

Sadie had two knives to defend her, they had been in her hand before she fell back down to the mountain arena, and they were still there, glinting in the snow. But the cornucopia was still there, being guarded by Dragan. He had been busy while all the other tributes were in the other arena. He had built a shelter, a fire and had stowed all the valuable supplies and weapons.

The only thing in the pile were the useless items. A stuffed teddy bear, a jewelry box, an extension cord, a menu to a Chinese carry-out.

"You couldn't beat me three years ago, and you sure as hell can't beat me now," Dragan laughed at her.

"My standards are a bit higher now," she replied, "I'm not aiming to beat you to a pulp, I'm aiming to slay you."

"Ooh, I'm so scared now."

"You better be," Sadie shot back at him.

"You're cocky for a fourteen year old," Dragan twirled the knife in his hand with ease. He was playing with her, giving the Capitol a show.

"I just know I can win," Sadie sent him an award winning smile, she stepped closer to him. "I told you three years ago that I would get revenge, and now here we are, and I'm about to settle the score."

"There's nothing to settle Sally, it happened three years ago, and if I hadn't of killed it then someone else would have."

Sadie was seeing red, and that was never good, "YOU KILLED MY KITTEN AND FOR THE LAST TIME, MY NAME IS SADIE, NOT SALLY."

In hindsight, it probably hadn't been a good idea for Sally, er, Sadie, to yell. If she could go back in time then she would have. She would have just lunged at Dragan's throat and sliced it open.

But Sadie wasn't able to turn time back, not even the hourglass arena could do that. Nope, she had to deal with the consequences. Sadie hadn't grown up with snow, or mountains or mountains with snow on them. She had no idea what happened when loud noises echoed through snow covered peaks.

There was a rumble in the distance, Sadie had caused an avalanche. Sadie, Dragan and Lenea were the only safe ones because they were in the center of the arena, it was everyone else who was in the direct path of the fast moving snow building up as it cascaded down the sides.

It was while Dragan was preoccupied with watching Belle and Skylar run back towards them that Sadie made her move. She lunged, her body flying through the air as she took him by surprise and stabbed him. But it wasn't a fatal blow and he threw her off of him.

"I'm going to kill you, just like I killed your kitten," he promised her as she lay on her back, struggling to catch her breath, she could feel his warm breath on her bare neck. It actually felt good considering that it was below freezing and the fleece jacket wasn't enough to keep her warm.

He was dangerously close to her, she could see his breath, hear his heart beat, feel the coarse whiskers on his chin. She tried to maneuver her hand but it was in an awkward position. Dragan was now straddling her, he had her hands pinned behind her back and he was gently stroking the blade of his knife.

"Shall I behead you, or strike your heart?" He asked her in a pleasant tone, as if he hadn't asked her which way she preferred to die.

He may have pinned her arms thus preventing her from slicing him to bits, but he had neglected to confine her legs. She was extremely flexible, and could tolerate pain like nobody's business. It had been why she had plunged a knife into her own skin during the private sessions. She had wanted to show the Gamemakers that no matter what they threw at her, she could handle it.

So Sadie did the only thing that she could to survive. After all, survival was the key to these games. Survival: The 52nd Hunger Games. She raised both of her legs as fast as she could, unbalancing them and throwing him closer to her. Then she rocked back to her feet, jolting his body backwards. She continued to rock, trying to dislodge him, and she managed to free her hands. She grabbed her knife, aimed and struck. He fell back onto her, he wasn't dead yet, but he would be in a matter of minutes, she had slain the evil dragon.

She tossed him off of her and got up. He was barely breathing, he watched her with his eyes, he couldn't move, couldn't talk, but he could still hear her.

"And so the pretty princess was able to slay the evil dragon," Sadie said, tossing her black hair over her shoulder. Oh how she wished that she could take a shower, her hair desperately needed a very long conditioning session. It was so greasy. She had never gone this long without washing her hair. "I told you I'd get my revenge. That was for Mipsy, the kitten that you killed in cold blood."

And with that, Dragan Halberd breathed his last and his cannon went off. Sadie was now a murderer. If she wasn't part of the games then she would be on her way to jail. But she was in the games, and her act was just another part of the games, one more step closer to victory.

She turned to Lenea, the girl was no longer watching, instead the blonde bitch was caught up in a fight with one of the girls. There was only one boy left, eleven males had already been eliminated. And the one boy who was left was being fiercely protected by two girls, it would be difficult to off him. It was definitely a girl's game, they had a huge advantage, a girl hadn't won since Jael's year. It was time for the females to show the world who really was the better gender.

Lenea and the other girl were well matched in strength. Lenea had somehow managed to find a sword, and the other girl had her ax.

Sadie wasn't about to jump in the middle of the fight, after all, Lenea hadn't jumped in to help when Sadie was fighting Dragan. Nope, Sadie was going to disappear while she had the chance. She grabbed Dragan's weapons before leaving so his body could be removed. She glanced up at the mountains, there were three avalanches, one huge one and two smaller ones. She could see three black dots trying to outrun the bigger one. There were two black dots running from the smallest avalanche.

Sadie hoped that the avalanches would wipe them all out, that would raise her chances of winning by a landslide.

Meanwhile, the only boy left in the games was fighting for his life. Colten Henley and the two females in his life were directly in the path of the biggest avalanche that Sadie had caused.

They were running, but running downhill in deep snow while being chased by an avalanche wasn't that easy to do. Nat couldn't keep up, and Casey kept falling and Colten couldn't decide who needed his help more.

"We need to find shelter," Nat yelled above the roar of the wall of snow that was heading their way.

"All the caves are up top," Colt pointed out as he pulled Casey up once again, almost dislocating her shoulder.

"There are some trees down there," Casey pointed, "we could climb them."

"We won't make it in time," Colten said sadly.

"Run sideways," Nat finally said, "maybe if we can get out of range we'll be okay, plus it doesn't look as bad over to the left."

It was clear that Colt and Casey thought that Nat was insane, but they blindly followed her anyway. Running to their left didn't put any distance between them and the snow, instead it gave the snow more of a chance to catch up with them.

Nat was lagging behind, she couldn't keep up with the other two, and she was tired, so very tired. Casey had fallen down again, and Colt was torn. He couldn't decide what to do, the snow was almost to them, Nat had stopped moving, she was bent forwards, her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. The last time he had been in a situation like this he had chosen Casey over Nat. He couldn't do that again. He reacted just in time. He ran back to his sister, pulled her forwards and then got behind her, pushing her as he ran. They were almost to Casey, almost out of the line of the snow. He could pull her up as they passed by.

He didn't get the chance. The snow swept over him, leaving Nat and Casey alone. Right before their eyes, Colten disappeared.


	20. Panic Doesn't Solve Anything

**Chapter 20**

Autumn cursed, a rarity for her, but she felt that the moment deserved a good cuss word. She really should learn to behave. She should stop picking fights with people who were bigger then she was.

But Lenea so deserved that punch to her face. It had felt oddly relieving for Autumn to finally let it out and kick Lenea's butt.

Autumn hadn't been a fighter at school, she had never thrown a punch. Well, she had, but Myrrah's bum and Leo's shoulder didn't count. They were her siblings she could hit them whenever she felt like it.

But Autumn had often thought about punching the school bully, or telling off a teacher that she didn't particularly agree with. She had often wanted to knock the peacekeepers unconscious and electrocute the President. But she had never done any of those things because of something called consequence. She knew what would happen to her if she got caught doing any of those , acts.

So she just did all of the hitting in her mind. Now she could do whatever she pleased and get away with it. In fact, the viewers were watching her fight with Lenea, they were cheering her on, they wanted Autumn to strike down the pretty girl from one again and again. Autumn was giving them a show. But she wasn't really doing it for the Capitol bozos. She was doing it because it felt good, it was oddly freeing.

She could pretend that it was the President that she was trying to stab, not Lenea. Instead of Lenea's pretty blue eyes, she saw Orca's dark brown ones. Orca, the class bully, had tortured her and Myrrah one too many times.

Now she knew why it was against the law to hit someone else, because it felt good, if it was allowed then everyone would be hitting someone at all times.

She struck again, but Lenea easily dodged it. Lenea was fast, she observant, she was sly. And boy could she fight. It was almost exhilarating to be fighting Lenea, they were well matched and at the moment neither of them were winning. It was more of a tie, a cat's game.

Autumn was starting to feel tired, and Lenea looked a little peaked. But neither of them were ready to give up or give in, because that meant certain death.

There was a slight commotion from behind Autumn, she didn't turn to look, instead she focused on Lenea, focused on her unprotected bare neck. Autumn's neck was unprotected too, oh how she wished that she had a scarf. It was freezing, and the constant movement was keeping her blood flowing, it was helping, but she was still cold. She wanted a hot water bath, a mug of hot cocoa, an electric blanket. A pillow, a bed, a hug from her sister, a smile from her brother. She missed home, she wanted to see her family again.

She aimed the ax again, but it felt super heavy, heavier then what she was used to. She toppled down to the ground. Lenea had the perfect opening, the perfect shot. Autumn squeezed her eyes shut. Then she rolled. Lenea missed her by inches.

Autumn's luck was going to run out eventually. She just hoped it wouldn't be today, she wanted to win again. She loved winning, she hated losing. This was one game that she was determined to win. This game was life or death. Life was the prize, and she wanted that prize.

Autumn knew that she had to get rid of Lenea, Lenea was the biggest threat at the moment, the strongest tribute left. Her mind started to think, which was never a good sign. Thinking was bad sometimes. Autumn realized if she killed Lenea, then the others would view her as the biggest threat and they would go after her next.

Autumn grinned, she was the second strongest tribute now, all she had to do was get Lenea out of the way.

Then she remembered that Sadie was still alive. Her grin melted off her face. Well she would just have to off both of them.

She tried swinging her ax again, but it was still way to heavy, she couldn't even get it an inch off the ground. There was something wrong with the ax. The stupid Gamemakers probably tampered with it, made it heavy so she couldn't lift it.

"Too heavy for you?" Lenea said in her sickly sweet voice. Honey killed flies, Autumn wasn't going to be a fly. Not today.

Maybe if she ran she could get away from Lenea. But she wasn't a quitter, she was going to see this fight through to the end. She tried the ax again, it still wouldn't budge, she groaned in frustration. This so wasn't her day.

She needed a sword, or a knife, or a rock. Bingo, there was a rock right by her foot, she bent down to pick it up, and she screamed.

"What's wrong sugar? Scared of a little rock?" Lenea asked.

Autumn was too busy freaking out to answer. Lenea had the perfect opportunity to strike, she reached down to pick up the very same rock that had rendered Autumn crazy.

She too began to scream.

There were many mutants that the scientists had created, many that the Gamemakers liked to use during the games to bring on more deaths.

One such mutant was a snow spider. It was a very deadly spider, with extremely sharp teeth that held a deadly venom. They were not found in the wild, but kept in cages in the labs. They were fast little suckers, and they could jump almost ten feet. The snow woke them up, made them more brutal.

Autumn and Lenea hadn't been bitten yet because the spiders were still on the rock, but as soon as a snowflake touched them, then they would be active, they would be on the hunt and both Lenea and Autumn would be goners.

They hadn't been seen in the arena in five years. They made their appearance in the last snow arena five years ago, and had tortured the tributes, six died from bites and the Gamemakers finally removed the spiders so no more would die. The Capitol audience wanted to see blood and battles, not spider bites. They should have expected the spiders as soon as they saw the snow.

Autumn and Lenea ran for it. A snowflake fell, landing on the back of a spider. He launched himself into the air, determined to hit his prey.

Autumn had made it this far in the games, she was not going to let a spider kill her. There was nothing glorying about dying by spider venom. But she also wasn't going to let Lenea die that way either. No, if Lenea died today, then it would be by Autumn's own doing.

XXX

A cannon went off, one more tribute was dead.

XXX

Panic didn't sink in until the cannon went off.

"COLT!" Nat screamed, she was not worried about starting another avalanche, she was worried about her brother. She fell down to her knees and began digging, calling his name as her fingers balked at the coldness of the snow. She was not going to lose another family member.

Casey was right beside her, also calling his name in vain.

"Was that for Colt?" Casey asked frantically as she dug.

"I don't know Casey," Nat was trying to hold back her tears, she would not cry until it was certain. It would not be certain until she found her brother. "There are still other tributes, it could have been for one of them."

Nat had not gotten the three of them this far just to lose her only brother in the snow. There had been no cannon for him yet, he was still alive, and she was going to get him out. She was going to rescue him.

"We need a shovel," Casey said as she saw their blue hands.

"Well we don't have a shovel Casey," Nat shot back, she almost took it back when she saw the pain on Casey's beautiful features. Nat's expression softened, "we'll get him out Casey, just keep telling yourself that he is alive under all that snow, just pretend you're making s'mores in front of a hot fire, not plunging your hands into freezing ice."

The two girls dug fervently determined to get Colten out before a cannon went off. They had no idea what was going on with the other tributes and they didn't care. All that mattered was getting Colten out before he died.

Keeping Colten alive was the only thing that was keeping Nat alive. If she couldn't save him then she was going to die, it was that simple. They both couldn't die, it would be right, it wouldn't be fair. Shyla and Delaney deserved at least one of their siblings to come back. For the longest time Nat was certain that it was Colt who was going to go home. Now she wasn't so sure.

"Colt," Nat called, "can you hear me." But the only response was the falling of the snow, the feel of the wind blowing her hair in a million directions. She couldn't feel her fingers anymore, they were numb and her hands were starting to throb. She was really starting to hate the snow.

"This isn't helping," Casey said, losing faith. Nat was getting tired of the girl's whining.

"The negatism isn't helping," Nat said as she dug her hands into the snow once more. This time instead of just brushing more cold flakes, she felt hair. She had found her brother, she just wasn't sure what state he was in. She was hoping for the breathing state.

"Please be alive," she pleaded to him as she tugged. "If there is a god out there, then please let my brother be alive."

Their digging became more frantic. They had to get him out of the snow, get him warm, if he was still alive. Somehow they got him out, he was either asleep or unconscious, they couldn't tell. But he was a mix between pale and blue.

Nat breathed a sigh of relief. The cannon had not been for her. Her heart slowed to normal. She was so very thankful that she still had a brother. The world would have been bleak if the outcome had been the other way around. She didn't even stop to ponder who the cannon had been for. As long as it wasn't Colten then she didn't care.

"His blood isn't circulating," Nat said as she brought his body close to her own, trying to warm him up with her body heat.

"We need a fire," Casey said as she ran around, looking for dry wood. An impossible task.

"We need an oven," Casey looked over at Nat in horror. "It was a joke Casey, cool it."

Casey threw a snowball in retaliation.

"I didn't mean literally," Nat said as she brushed the snow off of her shoulder and then threw one back.

"Well I see you two are getting along swell," Colt coughed from Nat's arms. His one sentence caused two girls to grin happily. "I love having two beautiful woman swooning over me."

Nat gave her brother a playful shove. He closed his eyes as he warmed up. "I need an oven or something."

Nat and Casey exchanged a look.

"Wrap me in some pie dough and bake me, no need to be defrosted, bake from the frozen state."

"Glad to know that the avalanche didn't wash away your sense of humor Dolten." Nat smiled, glad to have her brother back glad that she could still use her nickname for him. Her purpose in life was still waiting to be fulfilled.

"How long until the arena will be flipped?" Casey asked as she looked up at the sky, the snow was still falling, the sky was still gray. "Because that side was much warmer."

"Let's get him to a cave and wait it out, the caves aren't as freezing, and it has to be more comfortable than sitting in the snow."

Casey and Nat lugged Colten to his feet and the three of the started the long trek back up the mountain.

They made it to the mouth of the cave. Nat left Casey and Colt outside while she went in to check it. She gave them the all clear and the three of them piled in.

"This one goes back quite awhile," Casey called over to Nat. "I'm going to go explore."

Nat went to work building a fire while Casey went off on her exploration. The girl came back a few moments later looking pretty pleased with herself.

"It's a tunnel," Casey burst out, Nat just looked at her. "It's a tunnel to the other arena, it opens out right into the base of a tree."

That was the best news that Nat had heard in a long time.

"Come on Dolten, we're going to get you out of this cold."

Nat and Casey led Colten down the tunnel. They exited what looked like a rabbit hole. They were safe in the warm arena, there were no other tributes to bother them. They would have some time to rest before the next fight.

Life wasn't so bad for them at the moment. They could pretend that they were a small, happy family. That wouldn't last for long. Soon their happiness would be shattered.


	21. That's what friends are for

**Chapter 21**

Rubbing two sticks together was not as easy as it sounded. Well, it was easy, but not if one was trying to start a fire. Which was exactly what Sares was trying to do. It was proving to be a difficult task, not impossible, but not easy. Sares liked a good challenge, but not when the result would be the difference between life and death.

Sares was super glad to be back in the snowy arena. She could light a fire, boil down some snow, get cozy in front of the flames. But to get the last two, she needed the first, and that was a bit problematic at the moment.

"Come on you stupid sticks," she said in frustration, "work, start a flame, anything." Nothing happened, just like she expected. She threw the sticks down in aggravation. "Fine, I give up." She looked up at the sunless sky, "do you hear me? I give up! I don't need a fire."

No response. She was being completely ignored. She had never experienced that before, she was not used to being ignored. She was always the center of attention, always.

She needed someone to talk to. She hated being all alone. It was getting dark, and cold, and it was still snowing.

She loved the snow, she really did. Snow meant a cozy carriage ride with the current boy she was crushing over. It meant warm liquids, apple cider, hot cocoa, spiced tea. It didn't mean camping out in the powdery stuff with no company, no fire, nothing to eat or drink.

The anthem began, soon the faces of the dead would show. She would soon know who those cannons were for. There had been four. Two while at the other arena, and two while in the snow arena.

She was absolutely shocked. Both tributes from one were dead. Sares couldn't believe it. She wanted to, but it just didn't make any sense. District one tributes always made it to final eight, they never died this early. These games weren't following the normal path. Not in the least bit, but that made it easier for Sares. Her chances of living were getting higher with each passing death. Also, the boy from two, the mean one, was dead.

Then they showed the boy from District 12, Sares couldn't remember his name, Mitch or Matt or something along those lines. There were now nine of them left. One more to go before they would be interviewing her friends and family for final eight. They better answer correctly, they better show her in good light.

Sares picked up the sticks one more time, it seemed to be getting colder by the second. Stupid Gamemakers, they took their control way too far. She remembered when she had her private session with them. They were just so full of themselves. They knew that they controlled her life, they could kill her in a heartbeat. They were cold-blooded killers. When she made it out alive she was going to kill them in cold blood.

Sares liked having goals. She needed Starting a fire, getting out alive, killing the Gamemakers, falling in love, getting married, having kids. Those were all her goals.

It had started when she was just a kid. It was just her and her mom. Sares had been born to a sixteen year old, her father had died before she was even born, killed in the games when he was only seventeen.

Sares was not going to let her mother lose another loved one to the games. She refused. Renna had always said that her daughter was stubborn, well that was not going to be Sares fatal flaw. She was going to survive, she was going home, she was stubborn and she refused to go at this young of an age.

She still couldn't get a spark. Rubbing two sticks together to make a fire was impossible. But Sares was stubborn, and there was no such thing as impossible. She had to do it, just to prove that she could do it.

"Please, please work for me," she pleaded as she tried once more, a spark could be seen, just the tiniest spark, it didn't start a fire, but it was a start. Now her faith was back. She managed to start a fire, and she sat in front of the flames, getting warm. It felt so good. Now all she needed was a blanket, a boy and a hot drink, hopefully spiked.

XXX

Autumn wasn't sure how she had done it. She wasn't sure how she had managed to escape the deadly snow spiders, or how she had managed to kill Lenea, the horrible girl from one, all she knew was that she had. She had escaped the snow spiders and she had killed Lenea. She was still alive, still kicking, still in the games. Against all odds she had made it to the final nine. All that was left was the final one.

Lenea's blue eyes still haunted her. Lenea was dead though, gone for good. She would never get married to Ritch, never have the perfect life. Autumn had no idea that Ritch was plotting her death. He wanted revenge for the death of his finance. Because Lenea and Ritch really had been in love, it was the real deal, and he felt lost without her. He wanted to see Autumn dead, and he wanted to strangle her himself. Autumn was doomed. If only she could see the future. If only she knew what was going to happen to her.

All she knew was that it was nighttime. The sky was dark, the snow was lightly falling, and the freezing cold air was piercing every inch of her skin. She saw smoke from the opposite end of the arena, someone had made a fire. Autumn wished that she could join that person. She really could use the warmth. But she had no idea who it was, and everyone was her enemy at the moment. The only person that she could truly trust was herself.

XXX

Anya was one of nine left. She went through the other tributes in her mind. The only careers left were herself and Sadie from two. She was shocked with that revelation. She was also glad that she hadn't aligned with the careers.

Then there was Skylar from three and both siblings from six. Five of them were from the first six districts, usually someone from the first six won because they were usually the healthiest, the most well off. And it was usually a career. Anya was one of two left from the careers, if statistics were right, then she had a fifty-fifty chance of winning.

Then there were the girls from seven, nine, eleven and twelve. Autumn, Sares, Casey and Belle. Way too many girls. Girls scared Anya, girls couldn't be trusted. Anya much rather preferred to hang out with guys. They were much easier to understand.

She was glad that she had brothers instead of sisters. She wouldn't know what to do if she had a sister, and she felt bad for Colten, all he had were sisters. He must have hated mornings, having to fight for the bathroom.

XXX

Colten was super warm now. He almost wished for the snow again, but that wish was quickly squashed when he saw Nat and Casey. They probably never wanted to see snow again, not after thinking that it had killed him.

They were busy making a shelter. Casey and Nat were arguing about where to put it. He sighed, they were never going to get along. He knew that they were trying really hard, but Nat would never fully understand how much Colt adored Casey. Casey would never fully understand how much Nat meant to him. His oldest sister really was his hero and he looked up to her, not that he would ever tell her that to her face.

But they didn't hate each other, and for that much he was thankful. They just liked to bicker, they liked to argue. They were like an old married couple. Except Nat and Casey weren't married. Actually, the better comparison would be mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. Nat wasn't Colt's mother, but sometimes she acted like it. Mother's liked to give their daughter-in-laws grief.

Colt knew that he had little time left with them. He was happy for what he had been given, he was happy that he was with them now, bickering and all. Casey turned and gave him a small smile, and he felt his heart soar. Nat caught the exchange and shook her head. She was trying so hard to be understanding, but it was hard for her to share her brother, not when they had so little time left.

Colt threw a look at his sister. Nat got the hint, even though she didn't like it, she moved away, giving Colt and Casey some privacy.

Finally, alone time.

Colt drew Casey into his lap and wrapped his arms around her, she shivered at the sensation that it caused.

"I'd like to kiss you now," Colt said, Casey grinned.

"I'd like that very much."

So that was exactly what they did.

XXX

Skylar Reef and Belle Petals were exhausted. Running from the avalanche had been the hardest thing that they had endured so far. They were pooped. They only had a few hours to rest before the sun would come up and they would have to go on with their day.

Skylar didn't think that she would make friends during the games. She had wanted an alliance, not a friendship. Yet, here she, holed up in a cave, huddled under a blanket with Belle. Back home in her district she only had one true friend, Gracelin Pores. Skylar could now say, without a doubt, that she had two best friends. She really wished that she could introduce Belle and Gracelin, the three of them would get along swell.

She had always thought that having one friend was good enough. That one was perfect. But she was glad that she had met Belle, glad that they were fighting for their lives together. It was good to have someone who had her back. Someone that she could count on, and she knew, without a doubt, that she could count on Belle Petals.

Belle rolled over in her sleep as Skylar kept watch. Belle was such a horrible sleeper. It took the girl ages to doze off, and she would kick, and move and roll and change positions every few seconds. In fact, Skylar worried when Belle wasn't constantly shifting. Belle had been in thirteen different poses in the last hour, Skylar had counted, it was what helped pass the time.

Skylar heard the crunching of snow outside the cave and she tensed. Goosebumps rose up on her arms and the hair on the back of her neck was standing straight up. Someone was out there. Skylar wasn't sure who, and she sure didn't want to find out.

She didn't want to wake up Belle, Belle hardly got any sleep as it was, and Skylar didn't want to ruin what little sleep she did get. But if another tribute was out there, then she needed Belle.

"Belle," Skylar whispered softy so her voice wouldn't carry outside, "wake up." Skylar gently nduged Belle's shoulder. The girl sat up with a jolt and looked around widely.

"Unughf," Belle said intelligently as she came to her senses. Skylar would have laughed at her expression if it wasn't such a serious matter.

"There's someone outside," Skylar said urgently. Belle tensed and searched for her weapon, the knife was by her side, somehow it had stayed where it was even though Belle must have kicked it a few times.

The two girls inched towards the mouth of the cave, silent and deadly. They cocked their ears to listen for more sounds. There was a light footfall.

Through the moonlight shining into their cave, Skylar could see Belle's expression. The girl had a wild look about her. If Skylar wasn't on Belle's side, then she would be terrified.

At the count of three, Skylar and Belle lunged, bringing down a fox. It took several moments for their heartbeats to go back to normal before they registered what they had done. They had killed a fox, not a human. They had dinner. Luckily Belle had managed to grab a flint from the cornucopia on the first day, so they lit a fire and had a feast of roasted fox.

Skylar went to bed with a full stomach, and Belle kept watch.

XXX

Sadie Cross was now the big girl on campus. The only career left worth something. The other one, Anya whatsherface had pretty much been in hiding. Sadie had hardly seen the girl's face. Anya was an elusive fish. Sadie wanted to flush her out. Sadie wanted to be the only career in the final eight.

She hadn't wanted to be in the games at all. She had been pushed into it, forced to be where she was. And she was going to show the Capital who they were messing with. She was playing the game now, for real, her sister would be proud.

Sadie was stalking the caves, looking in each one. She found remains of a campsite in one cave, probably from their first time in the arena. She moved on to the next one, completely empty. She didn't care who she found, anyone would do.

She had been seven when Jael was in the games. To a seven year old, watching her older sister kill other children was a frightening sight. Sadie could never get the image out of her head when Jael made her first kill. After the death of the small girl from eight, Jael had snapped, she had gone crazy, she was out for blood, she didn't know what was real anymore. She couldn't distinguish right from wrong.

Now Sadie was in the same position. She hadn't thought that it would happen to her. But now that Dragan was dead, Sadie couldn't help herself. She needed revenge, she was out for blood. She was now the career that everyone was frightened of, they wanted to kill her, so she had to kill them first.

She smiled to herself as she came to a cave with footprints in the snow. The footprints led in and out of the entrance.

Bingo.

Before Sadie could walk another step, a body came flying out of the cave, brandishing a knife. So Sadie wasn't the only tribute who had gone crazy.

Belle was screaming at the top of her lungs, Sadie easily sidestepped the girl from twelve.

"Belle?" Another girl said, concern dripping from her tone. Sadie had forgotten about Skylar. The two girls were connected at the hips. Skylar launched herself in the air, trying to get to Sadie.

Sadie was ready. Skylar was going to fall right into Sadie's perfectly aimed knife. Belle jumped, putting herself between Sadie and Skylar. The knife pierced Belle instead of Skylar, but Sadie wasn't picky.

"NO!" Skylar screamed as she watched her friend fall. "BELLE."

But it was too late, Belle was close to death, her cannon would soon go off. Sadie would have another death on her hands. Skylar was torn, did she run to Belle's side, or go after Belle's killer. She decided to comfort Belle in her last moments, she still had plenty of time to avenge Belle.

"Why'd you do that?" Skylar asked as she knelt beside her friend, "why'd you jump in front of me?"

"That's what friends do," Belle gasped as she bled out, Skylar was hopeless to fix the wound. She wished that she had paid better attention in health class.

"Only if you're suicidal," Skylar whispered as Belle closed her eyes.

"It's okay Skye, I can see my mom, she's waiting for me," Belle took one last breath, and was still. She looked like a sleeping angel, peaceful and content. Now Skylar had to win, for the both of them.

XXX

The final eight had been chosen. One alliance was left to be severed, and it was the strongest one yet.


	22. Jealousy isn't your color

**Chapter 22**

"And now, the moment you've all been waiting for, the Final Eight Interviews!" Erneast Templesmith said, his young son, Claudius giggling on his lap.

"He's so good-looking," Manda gushed.

"Ew, really? He's so old, and he has a toddler, now if you had said Caesar then I might have agreed with you," Tilly said as she stretched out on the couch. It was a good thing that her mother was not home, otherwise Mrs. Vaneguard would be having an absolute fit. Feet were not allowed on the couch. Well, what her mother didn't know, wouldn't hurt.

The photos of the tributes who had died were flashed on screen. Nothing would be said about them. No, tonight was for the eight who were still alive, tonight was their moment to shine. Unfortunately, it was their friends and family making them shine.

They showed a montage of Sadie's time in the arena first. They did that every year with all the final eight tributes. Tilly almost shut her eyes as the scene between Dragan and Sadie unfolded yet again. The Gamemakers kept showing reruns of that particular moment. Then they showed Sadie stabbing the girl from 12. That moment had just happened.

Interviews weren't shown until the final eight were announced, but the actual interviews were done when there were about ten or nine tributes left. So Belle's family had been interviewed, but they wouldn't be shown. They did it that way so interviews could be shown immediately after the eight were announced. One year they hadn't had any of the interviews done yet, the final eight was announced, interviewers were sent out to the remaining districts, and before a single question was asked, two tributes died, leaving six.

"I liked Sadie, she had spunk," Manda said as she took a sip of her soda. It was dangerously close to spilling on the Vanegaurds plush white rug. Tilly didn't bother to tell Manda that.

"She's crazy now," Tilly agreed, "I couldn't believe that she just offed Belle, just like that."

"Well she was aiming for Skylar," Manda pointed out, "Belle just got in the way."

"Would you jump in front of me if someone was trying to kill me?" Tilly wondered as Sadie's family was shown.

"Who would want to kill you?" Manda placed her soda on the table. Manda had never been one to think outside of the box. She hated 'what if' questions.

"Good point," Tilly felt safe again.

Sadie's family consisted of her parents, her older sister Jael and two friends who were introduced as Meredith and Irina. They were sitting on couches in the District 2 Justice Building. All interviews were held in the Justice Buildings. Caesar Flickerman was sitting next to them. Tilly's heart soared.

"He's so hot," Tilly said in the classic crazed fan girl voice. Manda shot her a look.

"Shush Tilly, now I missed the question."

"We're very proud of Sadie," Mrs. Cross said as she smiled at the camera. Mrs. Cross sat up tall and straight, she was used to being the center of attention. "It's in her blood to win, I won, Jael won, and now it's Sadie's moment to shine."

Mr. Cross just grunted in agreement. Tilly shivered, she was glad that he wasn't her father. He seemed very stern, like a worse version of her mother.

"She'll go all the way," Jael put in, beaming from ear to ear. It was clear to see that she was proud of her younger sister.

"I don't think she will," Manda was slurping her soda again, "there are some very determined tributes this year. And after she killed Belle, Skylar is going to be after her blood."

"So you think Skylar is going to go after Sadie?" Tilly sat up, she loved debating what the tributes were going to do next. She did it every year, with every situation. She had thought that Dragan was going to kill Sadie and was shocked when it was the other way around.

"I know she will, and I think that Skylar will totally avenge Belle's untimely death."

"If I was killed, would you go after my murderer?" Tilly turned to her stomach and stared at Manda with her piercing green eyes.

Manda rolled her own violet eyes. "Tilly, would you stop with those silly questions, they're getting so annoying."

Meredith and Irina began to tell stories about Sadie and the escapades that they experienced. Manda brought out her handheld and glued her eyes to that screen instead. Manda had never been a huge follower of the Games like Tilly. The tribute that she was sponsoring was already dead, Tilly's had made it to the final eight. Manda had never had the ability to pick out the winner like Tilly.

Tilly liked to predict who would win from the very start. Last year the one she thought would win had made it to final three. The year before that her favorite tribute had made it to final six. She was getting better at picking out the winner. She was hoping that this was the year. She knew that this was the year.

It was her first year sponsoring, with her daddy's money of course, and her tribute was in the final eight. She couldn't wait for that interview.

Sadie's interview was coming to an end. Tilly got one last look at Caesar's beautiful body before the scene switched and the arena was shown.

Sadie was skinning a rabbit and roasting it over an open fire. Then the scene changed again and Skylar was shown. She was sharpening her knife.

"I bet you my sugargum lip-gloss that she's planning the death of that other tribute we just saw, what was her name, Sally?" Manda said, her eyes not leaving the screen of her handheld.

"It was Sadie, she yelled it a few times in the arena, remember?"

"Not really," Manda admitted as she slammed the handheld down in anger. "Ugh, I always die at the same exact point."

"What game are you playing?" Tilly asked as Skylar's family was shown. There were only three people in the room, four if the interviewer was counted. Caesar wasn't doing the interviews. He only did the first one aired. One of the Gamemakers was with the Reef family.

She had flaming red hair and wore a tight frown on her face. It was clear that she didn't want to be there, but was forced to do the interviews. Tilly recognized her from the previous years, but she couldn't remember her name.

The redhead didn't do much talking, and when she did ask questions, her voice was low and deep and Tilly had to strain to hear the question.

Skylar's family consisted of her parents and her friend Gracelin.

"I just want her to come home, I miss her," Gracelin said in her small voice. "And I think it's great that she found a friend in Belle, I know she must be hurting because of what happened."

"Both of our children have now been in the games, our son Finn died in the games, we don't want to lose Skylar as well," Alexa leaned into her husband for support, he rubbed her shoulders with his fingers. Tilly wished that she could find a love like that. She wanted the comfort of a man. Alexa and Alek seemed so in love.

Skylar appeared on television again, her knife was sharpened and she was out hunting for Sadie. Then she wobbled and she threw out her hands to break her fall. But she never tumbled, instead she was transferred to the other arena.

Tilly had thought that the arena idea this year was awesome. It would be so fun and she wished for the billionth time that she was there, sharing the experience.

After Skylar was Anya, the girl from four. Anya had been thrown into the lake when the arena changed, lucky that it had been Anya and not that girl from seven, that girl had already almost drowned once.

Tilly hated how they showed all the interviews in the same boring rooms at the same boring Justice Buildings, but the Capitol did that to keep the Districts blind about the others.

There were two little boys, an older lady that reminded Tilly of her grandmother, Tilly shivered, her grandmother was one scary lady. Well, her mother's mother. Her father's mother was awesome. There was also a girl about her age who was introduced as Shauna.

"Her mother is watching her, that much I know, her parents are helping," Lynn O'dell said as the youngest boy sat on her lap, not saying a word. Tilly thought that Anya's brothers were adorable. She wished that her own two brothers were that cute, but her brothers were grown men with wives and a very dry sense of humor. She could never get her brothers to laugh, which she thought was a shame. Everyone needed to laugh, laughing was good for the soul, that was what Tilly believed.

"I miss my sister's cooking," the little boy finally said, taking his thumb out of his mouth.

"And that's saying something," the other boy said, "the last time she made dinner, she burnt the outside of the chicken, but it was still cold on the inside."

"Andy," the grandmother chastised the boy. "That's not nice, your sister's a good cook."

"Obviously you've never tried her steamed shrimp," Andy made a face. The interviews ended with a good laugh and the screen shifted to show Anya again. She was getting out of the water, she was dripping wet and she squeezed the water out of her dark brown hair.

After Anya it was the two from six. The siblings were still with the girl from eleven. When the arena had changed they had tried to go back through the tunnel to the snow arena, but it had been blocked off.

The interviews for them were shown together, there was a whole crowd in the room for their interviews.

Their sisters, Shyla and Delaney were there, along with Nat's best friend Gen and Colt's best friends, Marteen and Glorianna.

"Aren't those the two that you're sponsoring?" Manda asked as she finally put her handheld down and turned her attention back to the television set.

"Yes, mainly just the boy though, mother wasn't too happy when I said I wanted to sponsor both of the tributes from six."

"What do you think about Colt's relationship with the girl from eleven?" The interviewer asked the sisters. Tilly was not supportive of the relationship. She had a major crush on Colt, and she wanted Casey out of the picture.

"I don't like his girlfriend, I think I could be his girlfriend, he'd probably love me a whole lot more," Tilly said.

"Tilly, be real, he's fourteen, stuck in an arena, and he only has a one in eight chance of coming out alive, besides, who would want you, Persten didn't," Manda replied.

"That wasn't nice Manda, not at all."

"I think it's cute," the one called Delaney said, a bright smile lit up her face. Tilly had always wanted a sister, and since her mother absolutely refused to have another baby, Tilly had her mind set on a daughter. She wanted one just like Delaney. Maybe if the older sister died, and Colt won, then Tilly could marry him and adopt Delaney. That would be fun.

"It's not practical," Shyla said, shushing Delaney. "And that girl is a year older. Nat shouldn't approve of it."

"She can't stop love Shy," Delaney pointed out. "No one can."

But people could stop love. Tilly knew that much. A year ago, Tilly had a major crush on a boy named Pertsen Humbles, and she swore up and down that it was love. But along came Hanara Clumerton and put a stop to Tilly's affection. Tilly had declared war with Hanara, but Hanara had won, she was now pregnant with Persten's child. Tilly didn't like to think about Hanara and Persten.

"Which sibling are you rooting for more?" The interviewer asked, receiving glares from everyone else.

"Did you seriously just ask us that?" Shyla demanded, getting into the interviewers face. Tilly would have too, that was seriously uncalled for. If someone had asked her which brother she liked more, she wouldn't have been able to answer that question because she thought that they were both rude and stuck up. She didn't like either of them more than the other.

"Nat won't let Colt die," Delaney said quietly, "she's too stubborn."

"But we love them both and want them both to come home."

"Only one can win," the interviewer pointed out quite rudely.

"I think you should leave now," Shyla said pointedly, gesturing towards the door, everyone moved aside so the interviewer could leave. Tilly thought that Shyla was one hardheaded child, if Shyla had been in the arena instead of Nat, then Colt and Casey would not be together.

There was a glimpse of Colt and Casey locking lips, Tilly wanted to go vomit. She wanted it to be her lips.

Another glimpse of the games, this time of the girls from seven and nine. It was time for the interview with Autumn's family and friends. Autumn currently had the girl from nine in a headlock.

"That girl is very violent," Manda said as her handheld vibrated. Her face lit up when she saw who was communicating with her.

"I wouldn't say violent," Tilly shot back, but Manda wasn't listening.

Autumn's footage was removed and replaced with two people that were almost the exact splitting image of her. Tilly was super glad that she didn't look like either of her brothers. They had been blessed with her mother's sharp features, instead, Tilly had gotten her father's soft features. She much preferred it that way.

"Autumn has played a good game so far," the boy said. "Myrrah and I are just so proud of her."

"I was a little bit worried when she went into the water, because Leo wasn't there to pull her out this time," Myrrah playfully punched her brother in the arm. Leo grabbed her in a headlock and gave her a noogie. "Hey, you're messing up my hair," Myrrah laughed as she struggled out of his grasp.

"She almost drowned once, she can't swim," Leo clarified, then wished that he hadn't. It wasn't good to let the Gamemakers learn the weaknesses of the tributes. The Gamemakers were famous for using weaknesses to their advantage.

Sares was still fighting with Autumn. It was a good thing too, because if Autumn had killed Sares, then it would be the final seven and Sares's interview wouldn't have been shown.

There was only one person with the interviewer. Sare's mother.

"Hello Renna," the interviewer said gently so as not to scare the mother. Renna looked like she would rather be anywhere else. She looked like a doe ready to run.

"Cymdyn wants to know if we want to go to the café after the interviews," Manda said as she read a message from her handheld.

"I don't know," Tilly hedged, she wasn't a big fan of Cymdyn's. That boy was super stuck up. But Manda was currently on with him. They would soon be off again. The two of them could never make up their minds on if they really liked eachother or not. Tilly thought it was stupid.

"Alisey will be there, and Ollux," Manda said, batting her eyelashes at Tilly. Tilly rolled her eyes.

"I do not like Ollux."

"But he likes you," Manda smiled, "a lot."

"Eww," Tilly shivered, "I thought that he liked Alisey."

"He did, but you know Ollux, he always has a crush of the week, and this week it's you."

"Exactly, so next week it will be someone else, like Helene, now that would be a good match."

"Eww, Helene and Ollux, no way."

"Tell me a bit about your daughter," the interviewer said from the television. Tilly turned her attention back to the program.

"She's very determined," Renna said softly.

"How old were you when you had Sares?"

"Very young, not even seventeen."

"How did it feel to have a child at that age?"

"It was difficult, but rewarding, Sares was a good baby. I miss her."

"Ugh, this is getting boring, come on Tilly, let's go to the café, the games will be on there, and you can watch them while Ollux watches you."

"There's only one more interview left Manda," Tilly pointed out as the trio was shown again. Lips were no longer locked together, instead, the three of them looked tense and scared.

"What did we miss?" Tilly asked worriedly, "why do they look ready for a fight?"

Casey's family and friends consisted of Casey's sister and aunt.

"I took the girls in when their parents died, I love them both so much," the aunt said.

"It's lonely without her," the sister said, "but I'm glad she found Colt, she seems very happy with him."

Tilly glared at the television. "Okay, let's go, I am tired of hearing about Colt and Casey, it should be me and Colt."

"Tilly, would you stop, it will never be you and Colt," Manda burst out.

All of a sudden, there was a cannon. The final eight interviews had ended just in time.

"WHAT DID WE MISS?"


	23. Putting out the Flames

**Chapter 23**

Autumn was breathing hard. Her heart was beating fast, and it wouldn't calm down. Sares's body lay only a few feet away, the blood was pouring out of her still body. Autumn wanted to turn away but she couldn't. She felt her stomach lurch.

Autumn hadn't felt a tad bit of guilt when she had brought Lenea down. But now, guilt was washing over her. She was no longer just a murderer, she was a killer. She now had two notches on her stick. The deaths of Lenea and Sares had both been Autumn's doing.

Sares had put up a good fight. But Autumn had been stronger, faster, more determined. Sares would never get her cup of hot cocoa, she would never have a carriage ride with the current boy of her dreams. One more life had been taken, one less tribute in the games, that much closer to the winner.

Single sided conversations, too much time spent alone. Autumn knelt down besides the body of the girl she had killed. Sares looked so peaceful, except for the blood spot on her chest.

Autumn whispered a silent apology before grabbing some supplies from Sares. Sares no longer had need for them, Autumn still did.

"Finders keepers," Autumn said as she stood up on her rickety feet and slid through the trees. Myrrah's smirking face popped up into her mind. Myrrah loved that line, she would always say it. Myrrah was probably having a good laugh about hearing Autumn say finders keepers.

She wondered what other tricks the Gamemakers had up their sleeves. They were a very imaginative bunch and had already sent out Bigfoot, snow spiders, and an hour glass arena. But they were down to seven tributes. A feast would be called for soon, and more tricks would be seen.

Autumn had to be ready for anything. She had to keep her eyes peeled. There could be pits of poisonous snakes waiting for her, she had to think like a Gamemaker now if she wanted to get through this alive.

She just wanted one day, even one hour, to herself. Just an hour where she didn't have to think, didn't have to react, and didn't have to fight. Was that too much to ask? For almost a week she had been fighting for her life, against brutal children, scared children, nice children. Children that didn't deserve any of it.

She wanted to be a kid again. She wanted to play, and run and swim, well sink, she didn't swim. She wanted to laugh and joke with her siblings, she even missed arguing with Myrrah. One of her favorite pastimes was arguing with her younger sister. It drove Leo nuts but Autumn claimed that it was in the job description of being sisters.

She wandered through the woods, watching her step, keeping an ear out for the other tributes. She absently played with the box of matches in her hand, another gift from her tributes. She had gotten three things from them so far. She was impressed, she didn't think that she would get any, yet she had gotten three wonderful, helpful items.

Matches by themselves were pointless, just there for good looks. But with a flint, and the right pressure, then matches lit up, fire on one end, fingers clutching the other, hoping that the wick would catch flame before the fingers were burned.

Autumn was one of those who loved matches, loved fire, loved the flames. As a child she had constantly gotten yelled at by her parents for playing with the matchbooks. Whenever she was caught, the matchbook would be taken away from her and hidden in a secret spot. Even though there were endless amounts of hiding spots in the house, Autumn was always able to find them. It was as if she had a sixth sense for finding hidden items.

She would light the candles that her mother had strewn about the house and would lick her fingers and hold them above the flame, seeing how long she could keep her wet finger there before it began to burn. She would put the flame out with her wet fingers and then play with the melted wax, making wax fingertips.

She was a reckless child, with a need to do dangerous things. She loved the adrenaline rush that came from jumping off waterfalls, and playing with fire.

That's what this was, this arena. It was jumping off waterfalls and playing with fire. It was doing things that she did without thinking first. Her mother had always said that she thought with her heart, not with her head.

But thinking with her heart hadn't saved that little girl from five. Nan was dead. Thinking with her heart had saved her sister, Myrrah would be dead by now if Autumn hadn't of volunteered for her younger sister. Autumn didn't regret that, not once had she wished that she could take that moment back. She would do it again in a heartbeat, because volunteering meant that Myrrah was safe, at least for one more year.

XXX

"Another dead," Casey said sadly, "seven of us left now."

"Don't think about it Casey," Nat replied as she cocked her ear, she thought that she had heard something. Nat was used to multi tasking hearing. At least, that's what Shyla called it. Nat could help Delaney with her homework, while listening to Shyla chat about her day, and spying on Colt whispering in his room with his friends about the girls at school. She thought it was a gift, her siblings thought that it was a curse. Nothing got past Nat's ears.

"Our time together is coming to an end," Casey said in her sad mournful tone that made Nat think they were at a funeral. In a way, they probably were. At least two of them, most likely all three of them, would die, never to see Christmas again.

"Quiet," Nat hissed through clenched teeth, earning two glares. She ignored both of them. "I heard something."

All three of them tensed instantly, reacting as one, as if they were all connected.

"Maybe it's an animal?" Casey said hopefully.

"Or another tribute out for our blood," Colt said cheerily, but Nat knew that he was scared. He hid behind his jokes, much like that dead boy from seven. But at least Colt's jokes were usually funny.

"Or a Gamemaker's trick," Nat put in, she was racking up glares from her companions. There were footsteps. Colt had been right. It was another tribute, but whether they were friend or foe was yet to be determined. All of Nat's friends were with her though, it could only be foe.

"Should we run?" Casey asked, turning to Nat, it was clear that Nat was their leader, she made all the decisions.

"Oh yeah, use me for bait," Nat said sarcastically. "Let's run because we all know that Nat can't, so she'll be the one to die."

"Mom did teach us that you only need to run one stride ahead of the slowest person when escaping from a bear."

Nat didn't know whether to laugh or cry. All she knew was that she loved her brother, and she would miss him when she was gone.

"Fight or flight are our options," Casey pointed out, but the siblings weren't listening to her, they were too busy laughing. "You're going to give us away," Casey tried to tell them. It was too late for that though. So much for being elusive.

Nat wished that she had at least one more minute with her brother. One more chance to tell him how much he meant to her. One more chance to hug him, to knock him on the side of his head when he was being stupid, one more chance to call him names.

But her minute with him was up, because it was time for their first real fight. They had managed to hide for the majority of the games, stay out of the conflicts, but bliss wasn't forever. There was a fight on the horizon for them.


	24. Circle of Flames

This is a fun chapter, so I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

**Chapter 24**

It was humid outside. Hot and humid, she debated jumping back into the lake. The water had felt so good on her skin. But she was a sitting duck in the lake. The other tributes would have perfect access to her, especially if they were good throwers.

Even though she felt at home in the water, she felt safer in the woods. So she walked amongst the trees, watching for other tributes. She still hadn't made a kill, she couldn't. She may have been from four, a career district, but she wasn't a career, she hadn't been a part of them, and she never would be.

Her brothers were out there someone, probably in their grandmother's house, watching her stalk through the woods. She hadn't made a kill yet, because she didn't want them to watch. She didn't want her siblings to see her in a different light. If she had to die, she wanted to die as herself, Anya O'dell. She wanted to die as the girl that her brothers knew and loved.

Anya wasn't a killer, she never had been. Wait, she took that back. She was a killer. Her last night at home she caught a fish, killed the fish and cooked the fish for dinner. She was a fish killer. But she was killing the fish so she could eat, so she could stay alive. She was supposed to be killing kids for the Capitol's entertainment, so she could stay alive. Different concepts, but both led to her staying alive.

She had made it this far without killing anyone though, she had made it by hiding in the shadows and not getting involved in the conflicts, and she was going to continue to do that as long as she could.

She heard chatter from near her. More than one person. There was only one alliance left that she was aware of. Everyone else was on their own. Most alliances broke up when the final eight was announced, alliances either ended with friendship, or a knife in the back. Anya didn't want either, that was why she had stayed away from alliances.

The chatter was still going on. Anya had the perfect opportunity to ambush them. They had no idea that she was there, that she was closing in on them. But she couldn't do it. Not with her brothers watching. It all came down to them. Every single thing that she did was for their benefit. She thought about them before making a single decision.

She was about to walk away from them, give them a wide berth. She didn't want to get involved, but against better judgment, she paused for a moment. The three of them were laughing, then she heard a voice, one that didn't belong to the alliance. A voice that made chills go up and down her spine. It was Sadie, she had found the siblings and that girl from eleven.

She wasn't sure why, but Anya moved closer to them, careful not to make a sound. She should have just booked it in the other direction, escape while it was still an option.

The fight had begun, but Sadie was outnumbered, three against one, her fellow tribute had no chance against the three of them. Anya wasn't going to help Sadie's odds go up. Anya wanted her own odds to go up. She would let the three of them kill Sadie. Why should she get her hands dirty if there were others willing to do it for her?

She turned on her heel, ready to get away from the fight. The yells were echoing around in her ears. But she had nowhere to go. She was trapped. The stupid Gamemakers had played their next trick. A wall of fire had appeared. She really wished that she had stayed in the lake now. The wall of flames was thick, she would not be able to get through unless she wanted to burn to death. Anya would rather like to save that as a last resort.

One time she had been cooking dinner, frying up the catfish that her father had caught just that morning. The oil was getting hot on the stove, the fish was breaded and ready to go. Pip ran in, chasing their little spotted dog, which Pip had named Square, go figure. Pip had still not mastered his shapes yet. Square ran right into the back of Anya's legs, causing her to spin in surprise and knocking the pan of oil all over her. She still had scars where the oil had hit her body. White spots that would never go away. A reminder of her past. Anya would rather that she never experienced that feeling ever again. Getting oil burns was bad enough, burning to death would be hell. Everyone was afraid of something, fire was her something.

So she did the only thing that she could think to do. The sanest thing that anyone in her position would do. She screeched. Whenever one of her brothers had a nightmare, she would crawl into bed with that particular brother and whisper soothing words to him. She would rub his back and smooth out his hair. She was the soother, and she liked it that way, but she had no one to comfort her when she was in need. Now was one of those times.

She was not the only one screaming. But she was the only one screaming for fear of the fire. Sadie was screaming because of the excitement of the fight. Casey was screaming because Sadie had a knife trained on Colt. Colt was screaming because of that said knife, and Nat, well she was screaming in anger.

"LEAVE MY BROTHER ALONE YOU BITCH!" Nat said as she lunged towards the District two girl.

Anya turned away from the flames, the fire was now the least of her problems. The others had noticed her. Nat, Colt and Sadie were locked in a fight, leaving Casey and Anya. Not good news for Anya. Casey had killed her District partner, she thought that she would be satisfied with bringing down one career, but Anya was right there in front of her. She might not have aligned with the careers, but she was still from a career district. Casey turned away from Colt, she had faith that Nat could handle it. Nat was very protective of her brother, she would make sure that he didn't die today. Casey was free to take on Anya.

Casey scuttled up a tree, it was warm to the touch, but still bearable. The flames were slowly coming closer to them, but not that close, the Gamemakers didn't want to burn them, they just wanted to enclose them to ensure a fight. Anya wasn't aware of Casey hanging above her. She had no idea that the girl was intent on her death. She was too busy watching Nat wrestle with Sadie. But Nat wasn't strong enough to take on the career girl by herself and Sadie was smart enough to keep her knife trained on Colt. They were locked in an impasse.

"Think fast," Casey jumped right on target, knocking Anya down to the ground before Anya could process what Casey had just said.

"Ouch," Anya complained as she rolled on her side and began to sit up. She was in too much pain to see the punch coming her way. Casey was actually shocked that her fist had connected with Anya's left jaw, sending her face flying to the right. Anya staggered back to the ground, she couldn't move, her jaw was killing her, she could barely talk.

She searched Anya's person and came up with a small dagger. It would work well enough to end Anya's life.

"Please," Anya managed to get out, "my brothers, they're watching."

"What do you want me to do, tell them to close their eyes?" Casey smirked, but a small part of her felt compassion. She wished that someone had told her to close her eyes when Sheath O'Malley had struck her own brother down in cold blood. Casey paused for a second. Anya had brothers, what would they think when they watched Casey murder their sister. She hated Sheath for killing her brother, she had vowed revenge. And now Anya's brothers would vow revenge if Casey ended Anya's life. It was a vicious circle that would never end.

Casey hated making decisions. She only had a few moments to decide though. She had never been one for choosing, one bad choice could ruin her life for good. She couldn't make the final blow. She couldn't end Anya's life. Killing Nemo had been simple, easy compared to what she was faced with now. She wasn't thinking when she had stabbed Nemo with the trident, but now thoughts were racing through her head.

She heard shouts from Nat and she turned to look. Big mistake. While Casey was watching Nat roll from Sadie's dangerous looking knife, Anya brought her foot up, connecting with Casey's chest.

"Umphf," Casey uttered as she fell backwards, pining Anya's other leg. They were soon entangled and couldn't distinguish whose body part was whose. "Twister game gone wrong," Casey muttered as they tried to untangle themselves.

"Huh?" Anya asked as she nursed her aching jaw.

"Left hand on blue," Colt called out helpfully as he side-stepped Sadie's knife.

"How on earth did you know that?" Nat asked as tried to disarm Sadie again. Sadie easily blocked Nat's attempt.

"I played it at Iris's house one day," Colt said, remembering to look guilty and apologetic. Nat couldn't stay mad at him for long. One, it had been their parents rule that no games were allowed in the house. Two, their parents were now dead. Three, they were going to be dead soon enough. Nat had no time to stay angry with him.

"Who's Iris?" Casey asked as she finally untangled herself from Anya.

"No one," Colt said a little too quickly as Nat answered, "his old girl-toy."

"What's a girl-toy?" Casey asked as she pushed away from Anya, causing Anya to fall back down to the ground yet again. Casey ran over to help the siblings take Sadie down.

"The same thing as a boy-toy, yet it's a girl-toy," Nat explained as she finally got hold of Sadie's right hand and twisted it hard, causing Sadie to yelp out in pain.

"Oh, gotcha, I had a boy-toy once," she grinned, saw Colt's expression then added "he was a good kisser though."

"Oh good, I'm glad that he was a good kisser, that makes me feel so much better," Colt replied sarcastically as he grabbed the knife from Sadie's pinned hand.

"Don't worry, you're an even better kisser," Casey flashed him a smile and blew him a kiss which he pretended to catch.

"Gross guys," Nat pretended to gag, "I did not need to know that Casey," she said then muttered "things you don't want to know about your brother part one."

"That's good, boy-toys should be good kissers," Anya called out from where she lay sprawled out on the ground.

"No one asked you, you bitch," Sadie spat, Colt wiped his eyes and fixed Sadie with a glare.

"And no one told you that you could talk," Nat elbowed Sadie in her throat. "How's that for a show?" Nat asked the sky as she pushed Sadie down to the ground. Colt tossed his sister the knife that used to be Sadie's.

"Wait," Casey said, Colt and Nat turned to her, "I want to be the one to kill her," Casey reached their sides. Nat kept her foot on Sadie's chest, keeping her in place. Casey was given the knife and she flashed it for the world to see. The blade glinted in the light, playing off of Casey's dangerous smile.

The flames were still dancing in a circle around them, and closing in with every second. One was close to where Anya's foot lay useless. She must had fallen on it wrong. It wasn't broken, but twisted. She tried to crawl away, without the others noticing her. They were too busy torturing Sadie.

But Nat heard Anya, and she whirled around, advancing on the girl. "Where do you think you're going?" Nat asked, making Colt and Casey turn. That was all the opening that Sadie needed. She jumped up, twisting Casey's arm and causing the knife to be plunged into Casey's own skin.

Casey cried out in pain, and there was a whirl of action as everyone jumped into the fight once again. Colt and Nat lunged onto Sadie, attacking her from two different areas. She tried to fight back, but she was outnumbered.

Casey grabbed the hilt of the knife and pulled it out, she stumbled and knocked into Anya, the knife went flying from Casey's hands and fell towards the ground. Anya's heart was in the direct path of the falling knife. Her cannon went off as Casey heard a dull thud.

Anya O'dell was dead, her brothers could blame Casey as much as they wanted, but it hadn't been directly her fault. She hadn't meant to kill Anya, it had been an accident. A pure accident that Anya was lying in the direct path of the knife. But Casey would still be credited with the death.

The flames subsided, the Gamemakers were satisfied with the outcome. Sadie managed to slip away and she left the scene. Nat and Colt were left to fuss over Casey and her injuries.

Casey fell into Colt's arms as Nat kept watch, making sure that Sadie did not return. Nat was also keeping an eye out for the other two, Autumn and Skylar. Satisfied that it was just the three of them again, Nat moved them away from Anya's broken body.

Casey had been lucky, the knife had missed all of her vital organs.

"We have to get the wound cleaned up and bandaged," Nat told them as Colt held his girlfriend and whispered soothing words to her.

"Good luck with that," Casey whispered as her eyes fluttered. She couldn't make up her mind on if she wanted them opened or closed. Colt kissed her eyelids. Casey murmured in content, and Nat made gagging noises.

"Ugh, I'll go find some leaves or something to sop up the blood," Nat said, Casey and Colt ignored her.

"So where were we before we were rudely interrupted?" Colt said sexily, moving closer to her. She shivered in anticipation. Almost dying was totally worth the attention that he was giving her. She sighed in content. If only they weren't fighting for their lives, then her life would be perfect.

* * *

So I'm really enjoying this story, and I don't want it to end. But the 52nd games will end soon, and the 53rd games will be next! So if you would like to submit a new tribute to be reaped for the 53rd games, then please send me a PM.

I will not write the 53rd games until the 52nd games are completely finished, don't worry, I'm not abandoning this story, I just want to get the tributes together so I can go right into the next games. So PM me a tribute, you can use any form that you want to use, just make sure to give me as much information about your tribute as you can. The more info I have, the easier to write the tribute. Name, gender, district, appearance, looks, description, personality, strengths, weaknesses, hobbies, family, flaws, fears, interests, random information. The more, the better!

I am also going to start using a beta, if you are interested, then PM me.


	25. Revenge is a Sweet Sweet Thing

**Chapter 25**

"Why yes, I'd love to fight for my life in an arena where I know absolutely nobody," Skylar muttered to herself as she trudged through the woods. "Why yes, I'd love to be paraded around for everyone to make fun of me. Why yes, I'd love to starve to death, freeze to death, watch my best friend die."

She wasn't exactly being quiet, all of the tributes left could probably hear her, hell, all of Panem was probably listening in to her rant. But she didn't care. She was angry, she was upset, she was in mourning. She had just watched her best friend die, she had watched countless of others die. She was tired of it all and ready to go home. She just needed a break, a day at the spa, a day away from all the cameras.

She had heard a cannon recently, she knew that they were down to six. One more was gone. She didn't know who it was, and she didn't care, all that she knew was that it wasn't her. She was still alive, her cannon hadn't gone off yet. She didn't even want to see the anthem, she didn't want to see the face of the tribute who would never breath again. Skylar didn't want to know who it was.

"I see a small star shinning in the sky. I see a bright moon winking at the star. I see a jealous sun wishing it was his," Skylar stopped singing, she couldn't remember the next line. It was a lullaby that her mother used to sing to her. Skylar missed the nights where she could just lie in bed, with her mother sitting on the edge, singing songs and reading bed time stories.

She remembered the walks she shared with her family, the old days when Finn was still alive. They would talk about anything and everything. They would joke about the girls that Finn was currently lusting over, even though they all knew there was only one girl in Finn's life. Gracelin, Skylar's best friend, was also Finn's girlfriend. They were supposed to sister-in-laws, until Finn died, crushing both of their dreams.

Skylar knew that she had to survive. Her parents had already lost their son, they couldn't lose their daughter as well. Gracelin had already lost her beloved boyfriend, she couldn't lose her best friend as well. Skylar wasn't living for just herself, she was living for others too. Because if she died, then parts of her parents would die too. She couldn't let that happen. She wouldn't let that happen.

"I see a small star guiding a plane. I see a bright moon hiding in the dark. I see a jealous sun rising in the distance," the rest of the lyrics flowed into her mind. She wasn't the best of singers. If the Hunger Games ever turned into a singing contest, she would never win. Good thing it wasn't a singing show. Panem Idol, ha, that would be a riot. She never would have made it this far. She still couldn't believe that she had made it to the final six.

"I see a small star dancing in the wind. I see a bright moon going down for the night. I see a jealous sun taking over for the day," the lyrics of the song had always bothered her. She couldn't understand why the sun would be jealous of the moon. The sun was bright and large, it made her skin tan, and warmed up the water. It made plants grow. The sun had nothing to be jealous of. The moon was nothing. It had nothing on the sun. Skylar had always been a day person, never a night person. As soon as the sun went down, she went to bed. When the sun came up, she was ready to take on the day.

But now she had to watch her back both night and day. She no longer had Belle to share watches with her. She was alone in the world. She missed Belle so much, but she wished that Belle was happy. At least Belle wasn't being tortured anymore. Belle had died for Skylar and Skylar would be forever grateful. But Belle didn't deserve to die. Belle should still be next to her, staring off into space.

The stars began to twinkle, the moon was rising, the sun was setting. The anthem began to play. Faces of the dead were shown. Skylar didn't even look up to see who had died. She didn't care. She just wanted to go home.

Then the trumpets sounded and Claudius Templesmith's voice magnified over the arena.

The final six, it was time for a feast.

"Congratulations everyone, welcome to the final six, the last leg of the games. I have a big surprise for you tonight, but I'm not going to tell you, that would ruin the surprise. Head over to the cornucopia to find out."

His voice disappeared and Skylar was left to figure out the secret meaning. Skylar absolutely hated secrets. One, she was never good at keeping them, and two, she hated being kept out of the loop.

She didn't want to show up. She didn't want to go to the Cornucopia and see who was left. She was going to stay in the small grove of trees.

Then she remembered, that they were in the opposite arena. The Cornucopia was in the other arena. Uh oh.

Stupid Gamemakers, they always had a trick up their sleeves. She knew exactly what they were planning. They were going to switch the arena on them again, they were going to dump all six of them back into the snow, force them all to the feast.

She cursed all the Gamemakers to the highest level of hell.

As expected, the ground began to shake, and she was forced off of the ground. She landed with an umpf into the snow. Snow. How she hated that white stuff. The last time she had seen the snow it had been contaminated with Belle's still warm blood. The other five were there as well, cursing at the bad luck that had brought them together.

Skylar finally looked at their faces, Sadie, Autumn, Casey, Nat and Colt. Those were the other five. They were the ones who still had to die for her to live.

She didn't want to be back in the same arena where Belle had died, but at least Sadie was there too. As soon as Skylar saw Sadie she knew her purpose in life. She knew why she had been forced back to the snow arena. She was there to kill Sadie. It was time to give the District 2 girl a taste of her own medicine.

Skylar didn't even bother to look at the Cornucopia, she didn't care what was there. She only had eyes for the girl who had killed her only friend in the Games.

"SADIE, you and me, right now," Skylar shouted, heading over to the girl with the black curls. The other four were smart enough to stay away from the fight, but they were forced to stay in the general area. A wall of ice had been erected in a circle around them.

The Gamemakers were probably tired of the tributes running from fights. Skylar had ran from several fights since arriving in the arena. She much preferred flight to fight. But not this time. This time she was fighting Sadie. She was either going to kill the girl or die trying.

Sadie paused, probably trying to figure out her options. But from Skylar's point of view, there was only one option for Sadie. Fight.

XXX

Sadie did not like her odds at all. There were five other tributes, and by now they probably all hated her. Not that she blamed them. The arena changed people. It happened every year. There was always one tribute who went off the deep end. Apparently this year it was herself. She hated herself for that. She didn't want to be the crazy one that everyone hated. But she could barely remember a time before the arena.

Get a grip, she told herself sternly as she turned to face Skylar, the girl was not happy. Sadie would rather face ravenous vampires then a revengeful girl. Sadie almost regretted the accident with Belle, almost. But people had to die for her to win. It wasn't her fault that the Capitol had forced her into the arena. If she hadn't of killed Belle then someone else would have. And no one had been upset when she had killed Dragan. And the other tributes were murderers too. Hypocrites.

Well someone had to get rid of Skylar as well, it might as well be Sadie. Sadie allowed Skylar to walk over to her. Sadie wasn't going to go to her. There was nowhere for her to go anyway. The Gamemakers had ensured that.

The secret feast was spectacular. There were blankets and heavy coats, weapons of spears, tridents, knives and swords. Food up to the wazoo, steaming pots of cocoa and tea. She would kill Skylar and then head over to the fiesta and dine like a queen.

She watched the other four head over to the table, ready to pig out and stuff themselves silly. But there was an invisible force field around the table. The girl from eleven was knocked backwards onto her back.

Sadie could see everyone's breath as they exhaled. It was freezing, everyone was looking anxiously at the coats. They all wanted one, needed one. Especially since they had no supplies. None of them had been expecting the change of the arena so soon. The only one who actually had a weapon in hand was Skylar, because she had figured out the trick just moments before. She had made sure to have her knife in hand.

Sadie figured that the Gamemakers wanted a death before the force field was taken down and the others could pig out. She really hated them. They kept forcing deaths at them.

Well they were going to get one. She really needed a weapon. She checked her pockets just to make sure, her fingers closed around a small dagger. It would have to do, it was better than nothing.

Sadie removed her hand, leaving the dagger there, she would let Skylar think that she was weaponless, then when she got closer she could take out the dagger and use it to stop Skylar's heart.

Skylar was right in front of her now, the knife in her hand reflected off the snow, shining a bright light in Sadie's eyes, she squinted, trying to see Skylar clearly.

"Hello, my name is Skylar Reef, you killed my friend, prepare to die," Skylar said calmly as she rushed at Sadie. Sadie was knocked to the ground, the cold snow numbed every inch of her body. Why was snow so cold? Who could actually like that stuff. It was wet, cold, depressing. She was glad that she was from a District that never experienced snow.

Skylar bent down, her face inches from Sadie's. This was the perfect time for Sadie to take out her weapon and finish Skylar off. She slowly moved her right hand into her pocket. Her fingers clenched the hilt of the dagger and she slowly removed her hand, then quick as a fox she whipped the dagger out and aimed for Skylar.

Skylar was ready though, she easily deflected Sadie's blow with her own knife.

"Come on Sadie, fight me," Skylar taunted her opponent, "you're just lying there, fight."

Sadie forced herself up. She did not like being taunted. Dragan had taunted her for years, making fun of her, burning up ants with her magnifying glass, killing her kitten. Dragan had gotten what he had deserved, a knife through his heart.

"Bring it bitch," Sadie sneered back, Skylar just laughed.

"You really think name calling is going to help you win, boy are you wrong."

"I'm a girl," Sadie corrected her.

"It's an expression, you idiot."

"Who's name calling now?" Sadie spat back, Skylar tilted her head and lowered her eyes. She looked almost feral, dangerous, someone to be reckoned with.

The two of them circled each other, just daring the other to make the first move. The other four were watching intently, shivering as they stood in the frigid air. Colt had his arms around Casey, keeping her warm with his body head. Nat was trying to find ways past the force field.

Sadie barreled her body at Skylar, Skylar stepped to the left and Sadie went down on her stomach, snow soaking into her clothes. "I hate the snow," Sadie complained as she got back up to her feet.

"Me too," Skylar admitted, "but I'd rather you be lying dead in the snow then me."

And once again, Sadie was pushed down to the snow. She had to get an edge on the fight, Skylar had the upper hand, and it was not good for Sadie's image. Her sister was probably laughing at her right now. Well she couldn't let that happen. Jael's laugh scared the living bejezes out of her. Sadie never tried to make her sister laugh because then her ears would bleed.

"Funny, I was thinking the same thing, but reversed," Sadie put out her foot, hooking Skylar's legs and knocking her down. Skylar was soon being numbed by the snow. Sadie took out her knife while Skylar tried to get herself composed again, the knife flashed and Skylar's skin was exposed to the elements.

"Not again," she muttered, turning to put her wound in the snow. It numbed the pain.

"I wouldn't do that, snow on an open wound isn't good for you," Nat called from a few feet away.

"Well it worked last time," Skylar said as she rubbed more snow on it and Nat shook her head.

"It's going to freeze your blood and make you sick," Nat tried to explain. Skylar ignored the girl, she had bigger problems on her hand, like disarming and killing Sadie. Sadie was not going to let that happen.

Sadie didn't even see it coming. Skylar knocked Sadie on the back of her head and Sadie fell down like a limp doll. Her eyes rolled back in her head, she wasn't dead yet, just unconscious and she would wake up soon.

Skylar waited. She wanted Sadie to be awake when she was killed. Skylar wanted to see Sadie's face of horror when she realized that she had been fatally stabbed.

She didn't have to wait long before Sadie's eyes opened and her hands flew up to her head. "Ouch, what happened?"

"Hello, my name is Skylar Reef, you killed my friend, prepare to die," Skylar said as Sadie tried to sit up.

"Stop saying that."

"Hello, my name is Skylar Reef, you killed my friend, prepare to die."

"Shut up," Sadie tried to roll away, but Skylar was too fast for her.

"This," Skylar replied as she put the knife in Sadie's body and Sadie crumpled down into the snow, "is for Belle."

A cannon was shot. The force field around the feast table went away, and the rest of the tributes rushed at the table.


	26. Til Death Do Us Part

**Chapter 26**

Casey grabbed for one of the woolen coats, her arms were freezing, goosebumps were raised, and she really wanted that coat. She had never been a fan of wool, it made her skin itch and cause her to break out in hives. But if the choice was between freezing to death or breaking out in hives, she would take the hives any old day.

There were only three coats, and five of them. The stupid Gamemakers had known that at least one of them was going to die, they only put three out on purpose. And there were only two blankets.

"Fight it out or talk it out?" Autumn asked as she grabbed for a coat.

"Well three coats and two blankets equal five, and there are five of us," Nat counted, she was always so level headed. Casey hated that sometimes. Nat was always cool, calm collected, she hardly ever freaked out, she was able to think things through and handle them with ease. And so it was decided. Autumn and Skylar got the blankets, while Nat and her crew got the coats.

They ate the food to their hearts content, but there was still tons left that they evenly divvied up. Only the weapons were still left on the table, they all needed and wanted weapons for themselves, but didn't want anyone else to have one. So they did the only fair thing, the weapons were divided evenly, they wished each other luck and went their separate ways, getting stopped at the ice that was still blocking their way.

"Seriously, they want another death, they're getting greedy," Nat turned to see that Autumn and Skylar had come to the same conclusion. To get the force field down someone had to die, to get the ice block down, someone had to die.

"What if the five of us just sat here and no one died?" Casey asked, she couldn't kill any of the tributes that were left. Two of them were her allies, and the other two had done nothing wrong to her.

"We'd all freeze to death," Nat helpfully pointed out, "or starve to death, whichever came first."

"The egg," Colt said as he rubbed his hand over the ice and quickly removed it. "Cold," he informed them.

"What are you talking about Colt, what egg?" Nat said in exasperation.

"The egg came first."

"No, the chicken came first you dolt," Nat informed him.

"According to our textbooks at school, the dinosaurs came first, and they laid eggs, so therefore, the egg came before the chicken."

"By that reasoning, you're still wrong, the dinosaur came first," Nat pointed out as they walked around the wall, looking for a weak spot or a doorway or a stairwell, or something.

"But the question was, which came first, the chicken or the egg."

Casey was used to their senseless arguing by now, they did it all the time, sometimes it was funny, and sometimes it was annoying, but it always made her miss the arguments that she used to have with her brother. There was always something strangely comfortable about arguing with siblings.

"No, the question was starve to death or freeze to death actually," Colten pointed out. Casey could see that Nat was getting frustrated with her brother and would probably strangle him if Casey didn't intervene.

"You're the one who changed the question dolt face."

"Didn't mom and dad ever teach you that it's not nice to call others names?"

"Uh, guys," Casey butted in before Nat's hands could get around Colt's neck. "I think we better turn around."

The three of them whirled around to the Cornucopia, Autumn and Skylar were both glaring at the them.

"We're the biggest threat now," Nat whispered, Casey gulped. Nat was always right. Autumn and Skylar were heading over to them. The two of them could fight each other, but then whoever was left would have to kill off the alliance to survive. Autumn and Skylar had joined forces to get rid of the alliance of three. Two against three was better than one against three.

Casey thought that it was a good plan. But it sucked because she was part of the alliance.

"One of us is going to die," Casey realized, her head was spinning at the realization sunk in. She didn't want it to be her, she didn't want it to be Colt. She turned to Nat. Colt jumped between them.

"No, we are not fighting each other," he told them both sternly. "Let's get rid of Autumn and Skylar and then take it from there."

They were all equipped with weapons now, Autumn had a working ax that wasn't extra heavy, they had knives and spears and blades galore. Thanks to the feast their bellies were full and satisfied, their bodies were warm and their hands were filled with weapons.

It would be a fairly even fight. None of them were at a disadvantage. They were all evenly matched. The five left had somehow managed to survive against all odds.

It was like the blood bath all over again. But instead of twenty four of them, there were only five of them.

Nat was struggling with Autumn while Casey and Skylar were locked together. Colt was going back and forth between the fights, helping whoever needed it the most.

Casey was too busy fighting with Skylar to pay attention to what was going on with Nat and Autumn. Colt was helping his sister at the moment and Casey was busy trying to take Skylar down.

But a week in the arena had taught them all hard life lessons. By now they all knew how to fight, they knew how to deal with tricky opponents. They hadn't survived by looking pretty.

Casey tried to trip Skylar to bring her down to the ground. It was always easiest to kill when the enemy was immobilized. But Skylar kept sidestepping Casey's foot.

It was almost as if they were dancing. Casey made a move, Skylar turned and twisted. Their hands were everywhere, so were their feet. Casey had two left feet, she danced like the typical white girl, not so well.

Once her mother had signed her up for ballet, the instructor actually made Casey quit because she was that horrible. Casey avoided school dances because she didn't want to look like a fool. Dancing wasn't for her.

"You're good," Casey said as she lunged again, and missed again.

"Why thank you," Skylar responded taking the compliment to heart. It was her turn to attack, but she also missed. "You're quite good as well."

Casey spun as Skylar's knife tried to lodge itself in her heart.

"It's unfortunate that you have to die," Casey replied as she spun her knife towards Skylar.

"I'm sorry to dash your hopes and dreams, but I'm not dying anytime soon," Skylar replied as she lunged one last time, she made her target. Casey's face lit up in shock as she crumpled down to the ground gasping for air.

"CASEY!" Colt yelled as he abandoned Nat and ran to his fallen girlfriend. Skylar was already racing to the other end, she wanted to get a head start before Colt pursued her.

"Well that's quite a twist," Autumn observed as the fight between her and Nat came to an unspoken timeout. The two girls watched as Colt threw himself down on the ground next to Casey.

Their goodbye was so heartbreaking. Autumn was glad that she was not the one who had fatally wounded Casey. Colt would be out for blood, Skylar's blood. The vicious circle really was never ending.

Casey wasn't dead yet, but she would be soon, she was bleeding out, her warm blood melting the snow.

Casey griped Colt's hand, "you have to win now, you deserve it so much," she sputtered, blood flew out of her mouth, spattering his face, he was in too much mental pain to notice.

"No, Casey, you can't leave me, please," he sobbed. Nat was taken back a few years where she watched her father sobbing over the death of his beloved wife, a few weeks before that they had heard Tori's heartbreaking cries as her twin sister Tisha died. There had been so many deaths in Nat's life, she was tired of watching the people that she cared about die.

"Make sure he wins," Casey tried to keep her voice steady as she spoke to Nat. Nat could only nod at the dying girl, it satisfied Casey enough, she turned back to Colt.

"Love you," Casey managed to say before she gave in to the pain and joined her brother in death. Nat couldn't watch her brother break down like that. It was painful to watch. He really had loved that girl, as much as a pain in the ass as she was. For some reason, Colt had loved that pain in the ass.

The cannon that went off for her seemed loud and obnoxious. The ice block was taken down. Skylar sprinted off towards the mountains, no one followed her.

Colten closed Casey's eyes for the last time before getting up and heading over to his sister.

Nat didn't say anything, she didn't need to. She turned to resume her fight with Autumn, but the District seven girl had left. It was probably for the best, they would get her later, no one was in the mood for another brutal fight.

They were exhausted, Nat put her arm around her brother. He fell into her embrace and cried his eyes out. She had never seen him so defeated.

"Colt," Nat began, but she didn't know what to say from there. There really was nothing that she could say to make it all better. They weren't kids anymore, Nat used to be able to buy him a toy to make him forget about the fight he had just had with Shyla. She couldn't do that anymore. He would never forget this moment, as hard as he would try, he would never be able to get the images of Casey's last moments out of his head.

"Let's just get out of here Nat, please," Colt pleaded with his sister. Together the siblings left Casey's crumpled body and they headed up the mountains to find shelter. The sun was rising, bringing about a new day.


	27. Some Surprises Aren't Good

**Chapter 27**

Colt was having nightmares again. It had been three days since the death of Casey, and every night Colt had woken up, screaming his head off, giving their position away to the other two. But Nat couldn't yell at him for that, he was in a bad spot. She had seen depressed people before, but never had she seen anyone as depressed as Colt was.

He was pining for his dead girlfriend, and Nat was trying everything in her power to help him. But there really was nothing that she could do. She had never seen him like that, and it scared her half to death. His reaction was scaring her more than the Games. She hated not being in charge of things, she hated seeing her siblings in pain and not being able to do anything about it.

There hadn't been a death since Casey, and Nat knew that the people of Panem would be itching for another fight that ended in another death. The end was on the horizon. She would be dead soon, her body would be sucked up by a hovercraft just like Casey's had been only three days ago. But if all went as planned, then Colt would be walking out of the arena as a winner. He would go home to Shyla and Delaney.

"They need you Nat," Colt said, Nat's jaw dropped in surprise. At first she thought that she was hearing things. Colt hadn't said a word in three days. Which was strange in itself, Colt loved to talk. She often joked with him that Mom never should have taught him to talk in the first place. He had a motor mouth that was always running, it seemed as if he could never run out of gas. But now she knew the off button on his remote, kill his girlfriend, what a morbid thought.

"What are you talking about Colt?" She asked, once she was certain she had heard right.

"Shyla and Delaney, they need you, I know you want me to survive and go home, but they need you more, they've always needed you more than me."

"Colt," Nat choked on his name, she gathered him into his arms. He was getting to old to sit in her lap, too mature to have his sister run a finger down his cheek and wipe the tears from his eyelids. But he allowed her to do all of those things. She rubbed his back and sang him a song that she hadn't allowed herself to even think about in years.

It was a song that their mother would sing to them, a song about a parents love for their children. When Nat was younger she had adored that song, had thought that it was sweet and thoughtful. As she grew older she resented that song and hated it when her mom sang it. Now that she was practically the mother of her three siblings, she loved that song again, she found that it was true.

"I miss mom," Colt said as he snuggled with his sister. "I miss her and dad, and the twins."

It didn't escape Nat's notice that he had left Casey's name out of the list of people who he missed. It had only happened three days ago, and it still hadn't sunk in. He still couldn't say her name.

"I miss them too buddy," Nat whispered as they sat beneath the pine tree. They were back in the cliff arena and it was boiling hot outside, but they made sure to keep their coats in hand. They didn't want to be whisked off to the snow side without their coats. It seemed as if it was getting hotter with each passing second. Those good for nothing Gamemakers. Nat wished that the Gamemakers could be reaped for the Games and then forced to go through the same things that she had gone through. They wouldn't last one day in the arena. They needed a taste of their own medicine, that was for sure. She wanted that redhead from the private sessions to watch her sister fall in love and then watch her heart break. She wanted that bald dude to get buried alive in an avalanche. She wanted so many things, and she knew that she wouldn't get any of it.

"Will you promise me something?" Colt asked his sister as he found their almost empty water canteen and took a quick sip.

"It depends," Nat was always careful when it came to promises. She never made one if she knew she couldn't keep it. In her opinion, promises were made to be broken, they were never kept, and she hated breaking promises.

"Promise me that you won't sacrifice yourself for my well-being."

It was a promise that she couldn't make. Parents would take bullets for their children, and she would take a fatal knife stab for her brother.

"I can't do that Colt," Nat told him honestly. It was a promise that she had made to her siblings after the deaths of their parents, she would never lie to them. She hadn't broken that promise yet, she had withheld information from them, but never had she outright lied to them.

"Yes you can Nat," Colt burst out, he was starting to get angry, Nat could see the redness creeping up in his cheeks. Colt was not a pretty sight when he was angry. When Colt got angry, Nat got pissed, and a pissed off Nat was even worse than an angry Colt.

"No, Colt, I can't, I'm going to get you home alive."

"Nat, stop thinking about me for once, and think about yourself, stop putting me first."

"That's my job Colt, I love you, I can't let you die if I can prevent it."

"No Nat, it's not your job, it was our parents job, and they're gone now, but you still have to live for yourself."

"You're my life now Colt, you and Delaney and Shyla," Nat felt the hotness of the tears as she thought about her darling little sisters. She would never see them again.

"Well if you can't live for yourself, then live for them."

"I can't," Nat was sobbing openly now. Her brother was asking too much of her, she couldn't take the stress of it.

"I know Nat," Colt looked up at his big sister, the one who would tuck him into bed, sing him goodnight, tease him about his unruly hair. The one who made sure that there was food on the table, clothes on his back and a roof over his head. She always took care of him, he didn't know how he would manage without her. "But how am I supposed to survive without you, you're the only reason I've made it this far. I can't live without you, Delaney and Shyla can't live without you."

"Please stop Colt," Nat stood up abruptly, "I can't deal with this anymore." And before he could stop her, Nat walked away from him, leaving him alone in the woods. He debated going after her but he knew that she needed time alone to herself, time to sort through her thoughts. But that left him alone to sort through his own thoughts. And that was the last thing he wanted to do.

Casey's face floated into his mind. He tried to reach for her, but she was a blur, always a step out of his grasp. He missed her so much.

Xxx

The trumpets sounded, startling Autumn out of her daydream. It was announcement time, she hadn't expected that. There were usually no announcements after the feast was called. And when there was, it was never good. Autumn's stomach dropped all the way down to her knees.

Claudius's voice broke the silence of the still air, "I have another surprise for the final four, I hope you enjoy it," he made a weird cackly sound, a laugh and then the air was silent once more.

Another surprise, well that couldn't be good. Autumn was not looking forward to that at all. It was probably one that would kill yet another tribute. But another death would soon be forced on them soon. Autumn didn't want that death to be hers, not when she was so close to winning. She was so close to seeing her siblings again, and she was looking forward to their reunion.

_Don't count your chickens before they hatch Autumn_, her dad's familiar voice echoed around in her head. He had often said that to her because she liked to dream big. And now she was already dreaming about throwing her arms around her brother and knocking Myrrah on the back of her head.

Autumn headed to the lake, she hadn't been there for several hours and needed to get something more to drink. She would worry about the surprise later, most likely when she was forced to it. She wasn't going to go looking for it. She wasn't stupid, at least, she didn't view herself as stupid.

She paid close attention to her surroundings as she headed towards the lake. There were only three other tributes for her to watch out for, but two of them would be together. If she had to run into a tribute, she hoped it would be Skylar over Nat and Colt. Her odds were a bit better fighting one then two.

She thought back to lazy afternoons with her siblings, wrestling with Leo, dancing in the rain with Myrrah. Kickboxing with Leo an karate with Myrrah. Laughing with Leo and poking fun at Myrrah.

She had friends who would complain about being the middle child, wishing that they were the oldest or the youngest. But she never complained, she loved being the middle. She loved having an older brother to watch her back and joke around with her. She loved having a younger sister who she could protect and boss around. She missed them and knew that they missed her as well. What were they thinking as they watched her struggle for life, kill other innocent children, and fight to return home to them? It couldn't be easy for them, knowing that the last time they might see their sister was on a television screen that the whole world was watching.

She reached the lake, it was empty, there was not another soul around. She felt safe enough to head down the path to the lake. She sat down on the ledge, swinging her legs in to the water, it was getting low again, the water barely came up to her ankles. The frigid water felt good on her sore feet. She sighed in contentment as she allowed herself to relax and get comfortable.

"Boo," she heard a voice say from behind her, Autumn turned, expecting the worst, her view of the worst wasn't quite bad enough to prepare her for what was waiting for her.

Xxx

Skylar heard a scream from the lake. It sounded like Autumn. Skylar tried to quiet the screaming voice inside of her head. If Autumn was screaming, that meant that the siblings had found her and were probably about to kill her. As much as Skylar wanted one more tribute dead, she didn't want it to be Autumn. She wanted Autumn to take out one of the siblings first.

Skylar headed to the lake, she was ready for the Games to be over, maybe today would be the day.

The scene in front of her was not the one she was expecting. There were three people at the lake, but not the three she had been expecting.

Claudius had been right when he had said there was a surprise coming. Skylar hadn't seen a twist like this in any of the games that she had seen growing up as a child. The Gamemakers loved twists, a twist to them was like cherries on top of whipped cream to Skylar.

Because the two that Autumn were fighting were not Nat and Colt. There were six players in the games again.


	28. Life Goes On

**Chapter 28**

In hindsight, it had probably been a bad idea for Nat to walk away from her brother. She could have kicked herself for not thinking her actions all the way through. She was usually so good at dissecting the pros and cons of things before making any decisions. She wasn't known for acting without thinking. The stupid games were changing her, changing everyone, and she didn't like that.

But there was something going on at the lake. A fight. Or the surprise that Claudius had mentioned. Nat doubted that it was a basket of puppies. Maybe monster puppies that liked to eat hearts of little girls. That was more likely. It was definitely not a good surprise.

She debated going back to her brother, but she was just so angry at him. Her whole existence in life was to make sure that her siblings were safe and secure. How dare he try to say that she deserved to live more than he did. He was the important one, the only Henley male left. He had a bright future ahead of him. He was smart, he was handsome and nice. He got along well with others. He had lots of things to offer the world.

She had nothing. She spent all day taking care of three kids, she spent her days making meals and cleaning the house. She had no time for herself, she was never able to go out, she didn't drink, didn't party. She was a slave to her siblings, and she was quite content with her lot in life. But eventually they would grow up and leave the house and she would have nothing left to live for.

She had no time to get to know the guys at her school, no time to fall in love. No one would want her anyway. Not with the acne that littered her forehead, or the baby fat that clung to her hips. She was not a desirable girl, and she knew that. But Colt was a desirable male, Casey had loved him, there had to be someone else out there for him.

Colt needed to live, he was important. Nat wasn't.

She made her way to the lake, she had to know what was going on. She hated being kept in the dark.

There were four figures in the distance. Nat had to double count, triple count, quadruple count before she was certain. But four didn't make sense. There should be four all together, and she was pretty certain that she wasn't seeing herself and her brother over there. She was able to make out Autumn and Skylar, both girls were fighting someone, but not each other. Autumn was fighting a vicious male, and Skylar was currently locked in battle with female. Both the male and the female looked oddly familiar.

Nat prided herself in being good with names and faces. It only took her five seconds to figure out exactly who she was seeing. They were not there for her, but that didn't make her feel any better.

Xxx

"You're prettier in person, I guess the camera really does add ten pounds," a sneering boy, if he could still pass for a boy, said as he easily blocked Autumn's incoming fist. He was huge, bigger than any of the other tributes that had already died. Bigger then Stelz and that was saying something because Stelz had been huge. The boy in front of her had the Career District look. There was something about him that sparked a memory in Autumn's brain, but she couldn't place a name to his face. There was something so familiar about him.

He was a great fighter, as if he had done it before. He was familiar with her moves, and had his own moves. This was the hardest fight that Autumn had been in. Her fight with Lenea had been a piece of cake compared to this guy.

Lenea. The girl's name fluttered in Autumn's mind. Her smiling face laughed at Autumn, taunting her. And then it clicked. Autumn knew exactly who her opponent was, and the dread heightened in the pit of her stomach. Not good, not good, not good. Those two words kept echoing in her otherwise empty head. NOT GOOD. She was so dead. So dead. She had somehow made it to the final four, she had made two kills, suffered through dehydration and hyperthermia, and now the moment of her death was upon her. She did not see how she was going to survive through this.

"Figured it out did ya?" Ritch sneered at her, Autumn had the sudden urge to cower in terror. She wanted to run and hide. But she was going to face him till the end. She had killed his finance, and now she was going to kill him. She just had to think positive. Her parents had always told her to make her dreams happen, well her dream was to make it home to her siblings, and she was going to make it happen.

"Lenea got what was coming to her, she deserved death," Autumn was really good at taunting people, her brother had always said that she was exceptionally good at taunting Myrrah. If she didn't make it home, then who was going to taunt her sister?

"I have dreamed about this moment since the instant your ax entered her body and she stopped breathing," Ritch's eyes were wild, big and angry. But there was something else in them, something that made Autumn pause. Love, hurt, grief. Ritch had loved Lenea, and Autumn had killed her. She had seen the pain before, when Skylar had killed Casey. She had seen the look on Colt's face when Casey had been stabbed. It was a look that she never wanted to see again. But she was seeing it again, she was seeing the look right now, in Ritch's face.

It's better to have loved and lost then never to have loved at all. It was a saying that she had heard before, but she had always thought that it was a load of bacookey. If Ritch hadn't of loved Lenea, then he wouldn't have felt so revengeful when she died. He wouldn't be standing in front of Autumn right now. If Colt hadn't of loved Casey, then he wouldn't be so depressed right now.

Life and love was hard, a game in itself. But she'd rather play that game then the Hunger Games.

"I vowed that I would get my revenge, and trust me dollface, I will get my revenge."

"First of all, I have a name, it's Autumn, not dollface. And second, well, I don't really have a second," she danced to the right as he came at her again. He did not look tired at all. He hadn't won the games for nothing. He knew what he was doing. Autumn hadn't won her games yet, but she had learned a few tricks from her time in the arena.

"I loved her you bitch, and you took her away from me," he lunged towards her again, missing her by centimeters. He was getting closer to killing her with each attack. She needed to change that, she needed to get the odds back in her favor.

"If you loved her so much, then you shouldn't have let her volunteer," Autumn said as she ducked his sword point. Autumn knew that saying, if you love something then let it go, if it was meant to be then it would come back. She also thought that saying was a load of bacookey. Her brother had always found it funny how she made up words instead of cursing.

He was never going to laugh at her expense ever again, her last thought in life was about her brother. Ritch's sword beheaded her quickly, she didn't feel an ounce of pain.

"I'm sorry Lenea," Ritch said mournfully as he stared down at the girl who had murdered his fiancé, "she was right, I never should have let you volunteer. I should have kept you by my side."

And before the hovercraft could pick him up and bring him home, he brought the sword up to his own neck and severed the jugular. He was dead in seconds. Only one cannon was fired, for Autumn.

Autumn was now with her parents, and Ritch was with Lenea, he would never let her leave his side again.

Life would go on for Leo and Myrrah, just not the way that they wanted it to.

Xxx

Colt had no idea where his sister had gone off to. All he knew was that one moment she was there, and the next moment she was gone. She had been gone for awhile and he was getting worried. Actually, he was beyond worried. He was terrified.

He was praying that the cannon that had gone off had not been for his sister. He hurried to the lake, that was the well known feature of this arena. He did not want to see his sister's broken body. She had to be alive. She wouldn't dare leave him without saying goodbye. If that cannon had been for her, and she was dead, then he was personally going to bring her back from the dead just to kill her himself for leaving her.

He had already lost one important female in his life in the past few days, he couldn't bear to lose another.

He had lost both of his parents, and his twin sisters. Now the only girlfriend he had ever had was gone. Nat better be alive still. That's all he had to say on that matter.

He made it to the lake. There were two bodies lying on the ground, both dead. But there had only been one cannon. One was the broken body of the girl from District seven. He had to look away, he couldn't stand the sight of her body, it reminded him too much of Casey. Everything reminded him of Casey.

It took him awhile to figure out who the other body belonged too. It was the boy who had won last year. His finance had volunteered for the games last year and had been the fifteenth to die. How on earth had he gotten permission to come back into the arena to get his revenge. He must have paid off someone. He really must have loved Lenea to want to go back into the arena.

What would he do to revenge the death of Casey? How far would he go?

He only had to go five hundred feet. The girl who had ended Casey's life was only that far away. Skylar was locked in battle with a girl with black curls. He was not going to let anyone else take his right away. He was the one who had to take Skylar's breath away from her. He was the one to got to stop her heart. It was his right. She had killed Casey, now he was going to kill Skylar.

Revenge was a dish best served warm.

Xxx

Shit.

Well Skylar, you've really gotten yourself in a pickle now, Skylar thought to herself as she tried to keep her vital organs safe from the sharp spear that was pointing directly at her. She liked pickles, a lot, they were one of her favorite foods, but she liked to eat them, not be in one.

Skylar had no idea how the girl she was currently fighting had gotten into the arena. But Skylar knew exactly who the girl was. She was a woman actually, a very stunning woman.

Skylar was actually pretty terrified. And she had every reason to be. Skylar had made three kills during her time in the arena, causing several people to vow vengeance. Casey's death hadn't been avenged yet, Colt still wanted her death though, but he probably wouldn't be the one to end her life.

Because the woman in front of her with black curls also wanted to bring about Skylar's death. Jael Cross was there because Skylar had murdered Jael's younger sister Sadie.

Shit. Had she said that yet? Because that really described her life perfectly at the moment.

Jael was a good fighter. The best that Skylar had encountered yet. But Skylar had over a week of practice, she probably looked like a wild woman going after her prey. Jael was so put together, not a hair was out of place, her mascara wasn't smudged, her lipgloss was bright and shiny. Jael looked like she was ready to go to a party, not ready to murder yet again.

She heard a shout from behind her. She couldn't turn around to see who it was, but she knew who it was. There was only one guy left in the arena. Her blood turned even colder. Because there were two people who wanted revenge. Two people who wanted to kill her because she had killed someone close to them.

Sadie's sneering face flashed in her mind, the moment when Sadie had killed Belle. Then the image was replaced by Casey's smiling lips, the moment when she fell and Colt had called her name in pain.

The Hunger Games ruined so many lives. It left scars on everyone. Skylar was no exception.

"Looks like you've made a few enemies yourself dollface," Jael purred, a sound that Skylar never wanted to hear again. Jael sounded just like her sister. Skylar shivered. Colt had made it over to them, a sword glinted in the sunlight's reflection. Shit, shit shit. Not good. She had no alliances, no one to help her. Jael and Colt were both out for her blood. She briefly wondered where Nat was. Because if Nat joined her brother then Skylar would be even more outnumbered. She had no chance if it was going to be her against the three of them.

"Sorry little boy, but you won't be taking the glory away from me, this is my kill."

"This isn't even your games," Colt shot back, "your games are over, you already won."

"So I'll be the first person in the history books to have won the games twice," she tilted her head and smiled as she thought about, "hmm, I like the sound of that. I'll be famous. Jael Cross, the girl who won the Hunger Games twice."

She was quick, but not quick enough. Nat had arrived, and she was going to protect her brother until the bitter end. And bitter it was, because Nat's sword entered Jael just as Jael's sword entered Nat.

Nat's last thought was of Colt. He only had to take out one more player. She had done her job. She had protected him as well as she could. She died with a smile on her face.


	29. The Twist

**Chapter 29**

That night the sky lit up and three faces were shown. Ritch was shown first followed by Nat from District six and then Autumn from seven.

Flamiken was currently getting yelled out for her actions. Again. Because they hadn't exhausted their mouths yet. She inwardly sighed. Didn't they know that there were still two tributes left that she had to monitor? One more death that she had to make sure happened.

She couldn't watch her screens and send out her monsters if they were busy scolding her.

"Why did you do it Flamiken? Why did you allow two of our victors to go back into the arena?" They kept asking her those questions, as if she could give them any answer that would satisfy them. Nothing would satisfy them.

"We did it for the twist, I've already told you that a million times. The audience was eating it up," she patiently tried to explain, again. They weren't buying it.

"We lost a victor because of your stupid twist."

Ah, so that was why they were so upset, because precious Ritch was gone. She thought that it made a wonderful romantic story about fallen lovers. There would be novels written about his act of passion and love. They would weave Ritch into a good character for the readers to fall in love with. It would become famous. If only Flamiken could write, then she would pen the story herself.

"Well I didn't know he was going to kill himself, no one planned for that to happen," Flamiken pointed out, "and we managed to save Jael, she's going to be fine, she's lucky that Nat didn't hit anything important."

"That's beside the point Flamiken, what you did was wrong," one said.

"We're done talking, but don't think you've escaped punishment," another cackled evilly.

"Ooh, I'm so scared now," Flamiken said sarcastically, moving her head in all directions as she spoke.

"Good," they said, then stormed away, slamming the door shut behind them.

Flamiken wasn't scared. She was beyond terrified. She knew what happened to Gamemakers when they did something that the president didn't approve of.

She had to find her sister. Because she had the strangest tingling sensation in her body, the hairs on the back of her neck were standing up. Tamisicus was not safe. Flamiken would never be able to forgive herself if something happened to Tami.

She was too late. Tamisicus was sprawled out on the ground in the house that they shared. Used to share. They wouldn't be sharing anything ever again.

Flamiken let out a cry as she ran to her sister's fallen body. This was all her fault. She should have gone into writing, then her sister would still be alive.

Volouth found her there hours later. Flamiken was still camped on the floor, Tamisicus's cold body right beside her.

He gasped in surprise. He had come to get Flamiken, he thought that maybe she had hit the bottle again and was too drunk to come in to work. It had happened once before. He had not expected to see a scene of death. He pried Flamiken's fingers off of her sister and led her out of the house.

"Come on, we have to get you back to the monitoring room before they kill you for abandoning post."

There was already another person there, someone to take Tamisicus's spot. They worked fast.

"I'm Seneca Crane," the man introduced himself to them. Flamiken ignored him as she took her seat.

"That's our head Gamemaker," Volouth whispered quietly, "don't piss her off and you'll be just fine."

"I heard that," Flamiken said as she glared at her fellow Gamemakers, just daring them to say something about her red and puffy eyes.

"Jael was just here, she wants back in the arena," Wendetta told Flamiken, "and why is this goon here, which Gamemaker did we lose?"

"Tamisicus is dead," Flamiken said flatly.

The others gasped. Volouth's grip tightened on her shoulder.

"Oh no, why" Wendetta asked as she swirled around in her chair to face Flamiken. The screen behind her showed Skylar huddled in a snowy cave. She looked as if she was freezing to death. She probably was. Flamiken had the strangest urge to wrap Skylar up in a blanket and give her a mug of cocoa.

"Because I let Ritch and Jael in the arena," Flamiken replied coolly as she headed over to her chair in front of the biggest monitors. Her voice sounded foreign to her. She wanted to leave, she felt trapped in the room with the others. She just wanted to be alone. She didn't want to be a Gamemaker anymore, she wanted to be free. It was too much pressure, she couldn't take it anymore.

The only way out was in a body bag. She was stuck as Head Gamemaker until death.

"So I guess we're not letting Jael back in," Wendetta turned back to her screen. Skylar hadn't moved an inch.

"She really wants Skylar dead," Alidia said as she hit a button in front of her, the temperature in the arena went down two more degrees. Alidia was in charge of climate, she thought that the colder the better, the hotter the better. She liked extremes, Flamiken had trouble keeping Alidia under control.

"Put it up five degrees Alidia, you'll freeze them to death before we get to the final fight."

Alidia grumbled but did as she was told.

"If Skylar wins then Jael will kill her," Volouth pointed out, bringing the conversation back to the important stuff.

"We can't let that happen," Wendetta chirped as she let some snow foxes run rampage near the arena where Colt was camped out. He jumped in fear, but calmed down when he realized he could make a meal out of them. He wasn't the world's best hunter. The audience was probably having a right old laugh over his failing attempts.

"Nope, not after the death of Ritch. We can't lose another victor. The president heavily frowns on that."

"So we'll have to rig the games," Flamiken sighed, "Colt has to win."

"Have we rigged this year's games yet?" Wendetta asked as she withdrew the remaining foxes. Colt had somehow managed to bring down one.

"Yes, we rigged the girl's reaping bowl in the second district," Flamiken replied off-handedly. "We did it for entertainment, Sadie's sister had already won, we wanted to send in Sadie and make it interesting."

"Well, it worked," Seneca Crane said for the first time from the doorway. Flamiken threw him a glare, he just winked back, she pretended to gag, he smiled. This was not going to be fun. "If you hadn't of rigged the reaping then Sadie never would have gone into the arena, she never would have been killed and Skylar would not be on Jael's hit list."

"Thanks Captain Obvious," Wendetta said nastily.

"And Tamisicus would still be alive," Flamiken said sadly.

"So what's the plan?" Volouth said, changing the subject abruptly. "Shall we end the games today, or wait until tomorrow?"

"It's been less than a day, we still have time to come up with an epic plan," Flamiken said as her brain began to speculate ideas. She went over to the white board and began to sketch it out. The others put in their two cents. Some of her fellow Gamemakers were more imaginative then the others.

"What if we just poison the girl?" Alidia asked as she played with the wind machine.

"No, that won't work, the audience wants a final fight," Flamiken shot Alidia's idea down.

"Well let's just do the same thing we did to that District seven girl," Wendetta suggested.

"What did we do again?"

"We made her ax heavy so she couldn't pick it up."

"Oh, that's right, but you know I don't like to play the same trick twice in the same Games." Another idea shot down in its prime.

They argued for what seemed like decades.

A plan was hatched, they knew how to rig the games to make sure that Colt won over Skylar. She couldn't win, that much was obvious. Flamiken could not allow Skylar to become victor just to be killed by another victor.

Part of her job was to make sure that the President was happy. And he hated loosing victors. Ritch had been an accident, a mistake that Flamiken would never let happen again. To make sure of that, she had to keep Skylar from winning. There was no doubt in her mind that Colt had to be the winner.

It only took two days to get the plan set in motion. Two days of planning and keeping the remaining two tributes on their toes. Flamiken had to keep Skylar from killing Colt, while keeping the audience happy and hatching a plan. It was hard work being the Head Gamemaker. But concentrating on her job gave her little space in her brain to think about Tamisicus.

She had switched them over to the warm side of the arena for the final battle. Alidia was under strict instruction to keep the temperature below one hundred degrees, she had not been happy with that demand.

They were both well rested and had full stomachs. Since it was down to the two of them, they each had sponsors galore and they were living like a queen and a king. Too bad this queen was about to get slaughtered by the king. It was a shame, she was such a beautiful queen.

The Gamemakers coaxed the two of them to the lake. Wendetta sent one Big Foot in the arena to scare Skylar to the lake. The audience was on the edge of their chairs as they watched Skylar fend off the Big Foot. Wendetta controlled the beast to make sure that it would not eat Skylar like it had eaten Fret. The Big Foot vomited for days after that meal, it had been nasty.

Colt was already at the lake. Flamiken didn't blame him, the boy wanted to kill Skylar, he wanted the girl dead. It was Flamiken's job to make sure that Colt went through with it.

Skylar had racked up many enemies during the time in her arena. Colt didn't have many, he would make a better victor anyway.

Skylar arrived at the lake, Flamiken nodded at Wendetta and the Big Foot disappeared in an instant. Skylar realized what had happened, she gave the cameras a very pissed off look. Flamiken smiled.

"She's going to try and run again," Volouth said expectantly, his eyes hopeful. Flamiken clocked him on the side of his head. "Ouch," he muttered as he rubbed the bump.

"No gawking at the tributes, you know that."

"That doesn't mean that he abides by it," Wendetta smirked. Flamiken groaned.

Colt and Skylar were circling each other. Skylar had the upper hand. She had made three kills, Colt had none. He was still an innocent boy. Well he wouldn't be when the Games ended.

"Okay Roan, now," Flamiken flagged at the Gamemaker in charge of the ground. He pushed a button and the rock that Skylar was standing on fell flat, causing her to fall down. Colt looked shocked as he watched her fall.

"Come on Colt," Flamiken urged him from the confines of the room, but he couldn't hear her. He couldn't hear any of the audience that was shouting at the television screen, telling him to make his move.

He gripped his sword and silently moved his lips.

"What's he saying?" Flamiken asked Mercied, she was their lip reader and in charge of the cameras. "Get a camera close to him."

Mercied did as she was told, she peered at the screen as she read his lips. "He's talking to Casey and Nat," Mercied informed them. "He's asking for forgiveness."

"What do you mean?" Flamiken flew over to Mercied.

"I think he's going to pull a Ritch."

"WHAT?" Flamiken burst out, "oh, he better not, he's going to be the winner, whether he likes it or not. Roan, do something."

"Like what?"

"I don't care, just do something, we have to ensure that he wins."

Roan kept moving the ground near Skylar to keep her from getting up, it was clear to see that she was getting very frustrated. Alidia let a burst of cold air into the arena, Colt shivered, but it gave them the movement they needed. Colt took a step towards Skylar.

"You killed Casey," the boy said, his voice was steady, it was the first time he had said Casey's name since her death.

"I did what I had to do," Skylar said from the ground.

"I loved her Skylar, and you took her away from me."

"I'm sorry," Skylar said, she sounded sincere. Colt's eyes looked misty. But he blinked back the tears, good boy.

"I'm not," Colt said as he plunged the sword downward, Skylar had not been expecting that, her eyes widened as it sank in. Skylar was not going to win the games.

The final cannon of the 52nd games went off. Colt was the victor.

The Gamemakers smiled, cheered and gave hugs. One more Game had ended, they had done their jobs, they had given Panem a show to remember.


	30. The End is Really Just the Beginning

This is it, the final chapter, I hope you enjoy it!

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**Chapter 30 **

Colt was still in shock over the outcome of the games. It still hadn't sunk in that he had won. He wished that he hadn't of. He didn't know what had come over him, he was planning on ending his own life, he wanted to die, he wanted to be with those who had already passed on.

But for some reason, he was still alive, and he was back in the Capitol getting ready for the final interview. Well, his stylists were getting him ready. He was just sitting there letting them do whatever they wanted.

He hadn't spoken a word since the Games ended. He still had nightmares about the Games, he hated going to bed for fear that he would see the images of the dead.

"He hasn't budged an inch," one of his prep team said, he couldn't remember her name.

"Here Toulio, take these shears, his hair is so shaggy," he heard clanging metal and the mop on top of his head became lighter.

"I knew from the moment I saw him, that he would win," Toulio said as he chopped off the last bit.

Colt tuned out the rest of the chatter, but then his mind wandered and thought about things that he didn't want to think about. Nat's determined posture as she kept him alive, Casey's pretty lips when she pouted, Skylar's defeated look. He did not want to be here, he did not want to be the winner.

Think of Shyla and Delaney, he told himself sternly, but even the images of his two sisters couldn't get the image of Nat out of his brain. Because Shyla was the spitting image of his deceased sister and Delaney had looked so much like the twins that they were often asked if they were triplets.

"Okay, I think he's done, Toulio, what do you think?"

"Amazing Laria, like always!" Toulio gushed, Laria blushed and took a curtsy. Colten felt like gagging, was that how Nat felt when she watched him and Casey flirt? Don't think about them, don't think about them.

There was a rap on the door and a head stuck in, "Laria, he's going to be late, he has to get down to the stage."

"Just in time, come on sport," Laria helped Colten up and escorted him to the room below the stage where Ceaser was waiting. The prep team stepped on the metal plate and rose up first, followed by Lydia, his escort, and then Laria gave him a hug and rose up to the stage. The room was emptying fast, soon it would be Colt's turn to raise to the stage. His mentor Hanger gave him a gruff good luck and disappeared. Colt stepped onto the metal plate and followed the others up to the stage.

All eyes were on Colt as he appeared on stage, all decked out in the stupid outfit that his stylist had made especially for him.

Pretend they aren't there, he told himself. Pretend you're at home with your sisters. But he was down to two sisters and he hadn't seen them in forever, he didn't even remember what they looked like. Delaney has curly brown hair, and Shyla has bright inquisitive eyes, he muttered to himself, trying to stay composed and sane.

He took a seat and the highlights from the 52nd games were shown. They told a story of friendship, revenge, and sibling love.

Colt got his share of scenes, but the other tributes were shown as well. He had trouble watching the screen. Several times he had to turn away. There were just way too many unpleasant memories associated with the other dead tributes.

The reapings were shown again, flashes of each of the twenty four children, twenty three of which were now dead. Lenea and Stelz eagerly volunteering, beating out the others who wanted to go. Lenea giving Ritch one last hug before she never saw him again. Sadie and Dragan glaring at each other as Dragon volunteered. Skylar freezing up as her name was called. Anya staring off into space as she kept back the tears. Nan shaking nervously. Then his sister and himself as the town erupted in anger that two siblings were chosen. Autumn taking the place of her younger sister. Sares and Fret flirting with each other. Casey, sweet, Casey. Belle and Mark hoping that they would see their District again.

Then the chariot rides. The mermaid suits that the District four tributes wore. The DNA suits that decked out the two from five. Autumn's classic paper dress. Memories that Colt would gladly blow away.

The scores were shown again, Colt balked at his mediocre score. How on earth had he won when there were so many better tributes out there.

The interviews were shown, Colt professing his undying love for Casey, Casey blushing at Colt's revelation. Sadie and Jael bickering like normal sisters.

The Games started, why on earth did the Capitol insist on replaying scenes from the Games, it was unhealthy for his already unstable mind.

Colt saw what had happened to the other tributes in the arena while he was camped out with Nat and Casey. He saw the girls freak out when he was buried under the snow from the avalanche. They should have left him there to die. They should have saved their selves instead.

Whenever a new face had appeared in the sky at night, Colt and the girls would wonder how that tribute had died. Dragan was killed by Sadie, who was killed by Skylar, who was killed by Colt. Elysia died by Stelz's hand who was murdered by Lenea who was axed down by Autumn who was beheaded by Ritch in vengeance for Lenea. All of their lives were intertwined.

Tearing eyes, sad faces, heartbroken children. Horrible things had happened in the arena, and Colt was forced to relive them.

He had to tune out the rest, he couldn't bear to watch it anymore. He was jolted back to the present when the audience erupted in cheers for the victor. Colt just glared at the audience before he was finally allowed to leave.

His interview would be tomorrow, he would actually have to talk and answer questions. He had thought that sitting there on a couch would be painful enough, but tomorrow he had to sit there and talk.

He had always been a talker, not like Shyla, but more so then Nat. Nat listened while the others talked, he had always adored her for that. Who was going to listen to him now?

One more night of bad dreams and lost hours of sleep. He tossed and turned, trying to get comfortable, but it was impossible. He had gotten used to sleeping with Casey huddled in his chest and Nat's back to his own. The room seemed empty without the girls. He had gotten accustomed to falling asleep with Nat's tiny pug like snores and Casey's heavy breathing.

Morning didn't come fast enough, the next few hours were a blur as they got him ready for his interview.

The interview was held in a small cozy room, just a few cameras, him and Caesar, a friendly conversation between two friends. He half expected there to be scones with clotted cream, lemon curd and raspberry jam, washed down with a steaming hot mug of chamomile tea. He definitely came from a family of mostly girls. Woman, he corrected himself, his sisters hated the 'g' word.

"Congratulations Colt," Caesar said as Colt tried to get comfortable on the couch. Caesar smiled at Colt, loosening the boy up before the cameras were turned on and the show began. "You look a little green, nervous?"

Colt couldn't speak, it was too difficult.

"It's alright, I don't bite," Caesar flashed his sharp pearly whites. "At least, not that hard," he laughed, but Colt couldn't work up enough momentum to share the gesture.

"We're ready to roll," a camera man called to them, Caesar gave a slight shake of his head. "Fine, one more minute," the man said.

Caesar turned to Colt, "it's okay to be nervous, I understand, but you can't just sit there and not say a word, this is your moment to shine, can you answer my questions?"

No, he couldn't, it was an impossible task to ask of him, but Colt nodded anyway.

"Good boy, it's going to be okay."

The man counted backwards from ten, then the cameras rolled, picking up every word, every moment, every blink of his eyelashes. Because that was the only thing that Colt could do, blink. His throat closed up, and he couldn't even get the word hi out.

"Hello Panem," Caear boomed with that loud annoying voice of his, "and welcome to my interview with Colt, the winner of the fifty second games."

Breathe, relax, focus, talk. "Hi," Colt croaked, the audience was probably cracking up at him, good thing he couldn't hear them.

"How does it feel to be the winner?" Caesar asked, thinking it was an easy question. Colt thought otherwise.

Fake, undeserved, he thought, "unreal," he said instead.

"You miss them, don't you?" Caesar didn't say any names, but he didn't have to. Everyone knew that he meant Nat and Casey.

"Every second," Colt said faintly.

"They worked hard to keep you alive, they must have really loved you."

"I don't know why."

"What do you mean? You're a good kid, handsome, good-looking, nice, funny."

Colt wished that he had something to play with, something to keep his hands busy. Whenever Nat was nervous she would twirl a strand of hair around the pointer finger on her left hand. He had noticed that Casey's nervous habit was to bite her lower lip and play with her nails.

"You managed to fall in love, everyone saw it in your eyes, in Casey's eyes," Caesar practically sighed. Colt wanted to yell at the man, to tell him to never say her name again. No one deserved to say her name.

"She was a beautiful person, inside and out," Colt said instead. He didn't need to go on the hit list, he didn't need to piss anyone off. Nat would kill him if Colt won just to be killed for saying the wrong thing on camera. It took a few seconds to remember that Nat was dead and it didn't matter what she would do.

They talked about the games, how Colt had felt during different events.

"And you almost got buried alive in that avalanche, what was that like?"

"Cold," Colt answered truthfully, "but honestly, I don't remember much of it, just that I was cold, I actually just wanted to shut my eyes and go to sleep."

Answering the questions got easier as time went on, Colt almost forgot that he was on national television. Caesar was so easy to talk to. That's why he had that job, because he was good at what he did.

Then they got to the hard questions, the ones about Nat and Casey and their deaths. Colt almost had to leave the room, but instead he pictured their smiling faces and took a deep breath.

Caesar didn't stay on that subject long, he knew that it was difficult for Colt and Colt appreciated that much.

"What was going through your head at the end, when it was just you and Skylar?" Caesar perfectly posed the question to keep the word "murdered" out.

"She was the reason that Casey was no longer with me," Colt said, throwing his face into the palms of his hand.

"Anything else you want to add before we say goodbye?"

"I just want to go home Caesar, Shyla and Delaney are waiting for me."

"Of course, we don't want to keep them in suspense."

The cameras were turned off, Colt was no longer being televised. He was led back to his room, one more night before he could go home to his sisters.

Colt stepped out of the train and regarded his district affectionately. He was glad to be home, he had been gone for far too long. He had seen things that no child should have been forced to see. He was scared for life, but at least his family was waiting for him, at least they would help him put his life back together. Well, what was left of his family. It had seemed like just yesterday that there had been eight of them. Now there were only three left.

He took a step forward and something on the ground caught his eye. He took a closer look. It was a baby turtle. He bent down to examine it closer. The reptile looked extremely familiar and it looked up at Colt with her chocolaty brown eyes and stayed perfectly still as he reached out to pick her up.

He couldn't be sure, but it was almost as if she was rubbing her head against his thumb. He pocketed the turtle and turned to the crowd. They were waiting for him. Most of them held up signs with his name, congratulating him on a job well done.

He searched through the familiar faces trying to find the only two that mattered. He would have known their faces in an instant.

Shyla and Delaney ran to their older brother and the three siblings hugged for what seemed like an eternity. He was never going to let them out of his sight again. Unfortnatly, life had other plans for him and his sisters. The world was not done with him yet. The worst was yet to come.

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The End! Thanks so much for reading and reviewing, it means the world to me! I can't believe that it's over already! You've all been the best, truely, yes, even those who aren't reviewing, although, you should probably review this chapter, it is the last one after all, and it would be wonderful if I got over 200 reviews for this story. Do you think we can make that happen? I think we can!

This story was over 60,000 words, 150 pages on Microsoft Word, and the second longest story that I've ever written. The first being my own original novel that I wrote last year. I wrote this story in a month and a half, it took me 3 months to write my novel. Writing, my anti-drug!

During the course of this story we have learned that FinnickLover4ever is always wrong, that EverbloomMontgomery is an excellent guesser (I still can't believe she guessed my kitten's name) and that there are people reading that aren't reviewing (that makes me sad).

Movies that I referenced that were not found were Finding Nemo, Highschool Musical and National Treasure.

This is the first story in a trilogy. If you enjoyed "Death" then how about you go read "Fear Is Just A Word," you'll be glad you did. "Freedom Is Just A Dream," is the third part. And all three of them are amazing, if I do say so myself.


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